Author's Note: Here's a new chapter to anyone who is reading. I thought it would take longer for this story to get some traction but it got some followers quicker than I thought. Thank you to anyone who is reading and to all who reviewed. I got some great info to work off of and decided to run this through Grammarly before posting. Also, I will not be posting weekly. I had the second chapter basically finished by the time I posted the first one so expect chapter three to take longer. That being said this one is more than twice the size of the last one so I hope it will satiate you guys for enough time.
Ichika awoke to his phone screaming at him. He did as he always did and argued with himself about whether class was worth it. This time, however, it was much harder to convince himself to get up. Only thoughts about the combined fury of Chifuyu's double role as sister and sensei was able to make his feet touch the floor. The difference was that his was pace was sluggish. He threw himself together as best as he could and waddled off to class.
Outside of his room, Houki, Rin, Cecelia, Charlotte, and Laura all stood at attention ready to receive Ichika.
"I'm a little worried about him," Charlotte said.
"Me too," Houki added.
"You don't think he'll actually leave IS academy!?" Cecilia asked.
"Of course not!" Laura answered, "My wife cannot leave without my permission!"
"He can't anyways. No high school in Japan would accept him since he's doing a specialized education path. He would have to start from scratch even if he did get into one." Houki did her best to reassure her friend and secretly herself.
"Yeah, other than that, the only other fields he could look into are the IS STEM classes. And even if he took those classes, he would still be here." Charlotte finished.
"And there's no way he could manage that. I mean it's Ichika! He has trouble with regular classes." Rin finished.
They all nodded in agreement. "Plus, I'm not gonna let that jerk break his promise!"
"You mean the cooking thing?" Ichika asked.
Rin jumped back, she was halfway between being embarrassed and punching him. It had almost become a habit for her to picture herself punching him every time he was around her. She was also irritated at how he still hadn't figured "the promise" out yet.
Ichika stared at Rin wondering if he had walked out at the wrong time. He didn't know that they all would be here. He should've figured as much since all of them were interested in him. The reasons for most of them were pretty obvious but, the Brit was a hard one to understand. He honestly had no idea how they hadn't figured out his act at this point. Maybe it was due to the stereotype of men being meatheads?
"AHEM!"
Ichika had been staring for too long and the girls, except for Rin, were all sour-faced. Rin was looking away from him blushing.
Well… there goes my pleasant walk.
He groaned internally.
Why me?
All of the girls walked with Ichika asking and competing for who would be hanging out with him over the weekend. Unfortunately for them, Ichika had his own plan.
After classes were over Ichika told his harem that he needed to speak with Chifuyu alone and that it would probably take a while. There weren't many excuses that could get rid of them but when it came to Chifuyu, they never thought twice. This tactic wasn't without consequences however because now they were worried quite a bit. They all met in the cafeteria.
"I knew it! He's talking to Chifuyu about transferring out!" Cecilia was crushing her newly emptied juice box. Laura was further pulverizing her chicken, Houki was brandishing her Shinai, and Rin chewing on her pigtail.
"Houki put the kendo sword away," Charlotte began, "All we'll do is ask him what he wanted to speak to Chifuyu about."
"And if we don't like it?" Rin asked.
Charlotte put her IS on the table, "Sound good?"
They all murmured sounds of agreement.
While the girls were discussing that, Ichika was heading towards the train. He quickly made his way outside trying to avoid being seen by as many people as possible. He texted a bit briefly to explain the situation. After getting on, he gave a sigh of relief and let the car whisk him away to the safety of the city. He was texting the whole way there making plans about where to stay for the night. Once the train had stopped, he made his way towards the restaurant with the golden arches. Ichika bought several burgers and fries to accompany them. He took his newfound goodies and began to walk to his destination. The walk was very pleasant.
Meanwhile with the girls:
Back at the academy, the girls decided that they had waited long enough. They had walked to find to their surprise that Chifuyu's office was open.
Rin and Cecilia wasted no time and walked in, "Where's Ichika?" Their fists made a loud bang on the table.
Their abruptness warranted a glare from Chifuyu. "Would you like to try that again?" she said in a low growl.
Rin and Cecilia became immediately docile. Rin thought about how many times she had found herself that mad at Ichika.
The rest of the girls walked in. Houki saved them, "Sorry Orimura sensei! We were just wondering if you knew where he went. We didn't expect your talk with him to end so quickly. Also, if I may ask, what was it about?"
Chifuyu looked at Rin and Cecilia, "You two watch your tone when you speak to me."
"Yes, Orimura sensei!" they responded quickly. They were glad that they didn't meet the business end of a book.
"As to your question Ms. Shinonono, I have not spoken to my brother nor do I know where he is. Now please leave my office, I have work to do. Oh, and shut the door on your way out."
They all shuffled quickly to the hallway and closed the door.
"Why would he lie about speaking to Orimura sensei?" Houki asked in the hallway.
"You know why," Rin said, "I bet that pervert is making his moves all over some floozy!"
"My wife is being unfaithful?"
"Everyone calm down!" Charlotte said. "We don't know anything yet. All we'll do know is that he hasn't spoken to Chifuyu yet. All we'll do is see him in his room and ask him what's going on."
"And if we don't like it?" Rin asks.
"I think you already know the answer."
A passerby stopped briefly, "Oh you won't find Orimura in his room."
"Why?" Laura asked.
"Because I saw him leave on the train forty minutes ago. It seemed like he was texting someone too," the passerby then left.
Charlotte turned to look at the train.
He lied to us so he could leave on the train unnoticed.
Her face contorted in anger. Here she was defending him, and he had the gall to lie to and ditch her. She thought about him with another girl. Charlotte pictured his arms around some girl and them feeding each other.
He lied and ditched us to go on a date!
She turned back to face a group seething with rage, "Okay new plan. Do you all have your IS?"
They all nodded with malicious smiles.
"Good. We'll start at his house."
Back to Ichika
Ichika longed for the moments where he didn't have to worry about any of the girls sneaking up on him. He texted a bit more about when he would arrive. The view was beautiful. The ocean met the sky with a perfect horizontal. He could hear the waves rock back and forth across the shoreline. The sun illuminated the sky with a light blue hue. He recalled how every summer he, Ran, and Dan would cook Korean barbecue on the beach. They would drink sodas and cook steamy beef, pork, and chicken. The thought was so overwhelming that the scent of rice, curry, and beef began filling his nose. He could feel the familiar taste of soda on his tongue and juicy tenderized meat being pulled apart by his teeth. He was happy that he was gonna eat soon.
Ichika snapped back to reality. He was still looking past the waves. In the center of his vision was the famous IS academy. The place was beautiful. Every person admired it from the distance. He had always wanted to see what it was like but now that he had been there, he preferred the mainland. The air felt heavier at IS academy. He knew exactly why too.
I just wish they wouldn't get so mad.
It wasn't that Ichika disliked the girls, he was actually quite fond of them. They decided to be his friends when he was the only guy in an all-girls school. He remembered feeling very isolated when he was first there. The fact that all were romantically interested was also very flattering.
Ichika blushed at the thought. All he wanted, however, was for them to not get so mad when he was with another girl. Every moment he was at the academy it was like a time bomb. It wasn't IF one of the girls was gonna get mad at him, it was WHEN. The cycle always was get found by one of the girls and then have another girl get mad at him for being alone with one. After that, there are some IS shenanigans. Other times they would punch or kick him. That's why he used a different strategy: always be alone or with two of the girls. For whatever reason, they seemed less angry when there were two of them. Ichika thought about the guys that women had to deal with.
I guess that guys can have those problems too.
He thought about asking for some free time several times but, he didn't know how they would react. He knew they held back when they're using their IS but it was getting to the point where he was having trouble walking correctly. Plus, he didn't want to be without friends. He was grateful to all of them for being his friends. As the only guy, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Most of the girls at IS academy had only ever gone to school with other girls. Their understanding of men was very limited. It was fun having so much attention but, after a plethora of stupid questions and odd requests, he began to feel more like a museum attraction. Having friends helped him fit in better and, because of their help, he was now decently skilled with an IS. Now that he was two years in, he was-
Happy? Settled?... I think so. I mean they're all super nice when I'm with them, alone.
He didn't have much time to process because in front of him was the Gotanda Eatery. Ichika walked inside and saw Ran and Dan standing by the counter.
"Hey guys!"
Dan looked at him for a moment before giving Ichika a disappointed look, "We've barely seen in the past two years and instead of asking your old buddy Dan to make you a nice hot meal you bring in food from a competitor into MY restaurant?"
"…Sorry?"
"You disappoint me man."
"I mean I bought you guys some," Ichika held up the bag.
"Works for me," Ran took a seat.
Ichika handed them their meals they started eating.
"Hey guys, I'm really sorry to burden you on such short notice," Ichika said between bites, "but-."
"Stop. You're always welcome here," Dan said, "Now eat your traitor food."
"If it's such treasonous food then why are you still eating it?" Ichika gave Dan a sly smile.
"It's those damn Americans man. They may not have toilets that clean your butts for you, but they have mastered the art of delectable fast food. It's like they packaged low quality happiness and sold it for cheap."
"So, crack then?" Ichika said.
"Yeah. Maybe that's why they have an obesity problem?"
"Maybe," Ichika laughed, "You have no idea how much I've missed this."
"Us too dude. Come over more often," Dan nudged his sister, "I know this one has really missed you."
Ran gave Dan a glare that both terrified and amused him.
"I've been getting better with Chess you know. You wanna play a game?" Ran asked.
Ichika was puzzled for a moment, "Right, I did play a lot of chess before IS academy didn't I?"
"You forgot?" Dan asked.
"I guess so."
"Really?" Ran seemed a bit annoyed, "You spoke about the game all the time."
"Well, I would love to play a game. Could you get a board please?"
Ran got up and started searching for a board in the back.
"Dude you didn't have to do her like that," Dan said.
"Like what?"
"She spent all of last year learning and getting better at chess just so she could play you. And you forgot that you even liked the game in the first place. That's cold man."
"It's not my fault that she likes me," Ichika stuffed a fry in his mouth.
Dan raised his eyebrows, "Wow, so you finally figured it out."
"Dude I'm not an idiot, I've always known."
"So, what are you gonna do then?" Dan asked.
"Wait for her to tell me," he answered.
"Well tread carefully. We may be friends but that's my sister, not some random girl."
"I know," Ichika reassured, "She's my friend too."
Ran was walking back with a board. She asked Ichika about IS academy as they played.
Ichika told them about his time there but left out details about Silverio Gospel and Phantom Task. He didn't want them to worry. Dan and Ran exchanged stories about the restaurant and their lives. Ichika liked that they didn't dwell much on his time at IS academy. He didn't like thinking much about it.
"Hey guys," he began, "Do you think I have hobbies?"
Ran paused for a moment, "We're playing one of your hobbies. Also check by the way."
"What do you mean do you have hobbies?" Dan asked, "Of course you do."
"Ok, what are they?"
"Why are you asking me? They're your hobbies," Dan was getting very confused.
"I'm just checking something."
"Well, you played on the football (soccer) team in middle school, you were learning to cook after Rin moved, math, chess, movies, tons of stuff."
"Huh, I don't really find myself especially good at math," Ichika thought about how his grades had plummeted since joining IS academy. He was on the verge of failing. He wondered if this was why Chifuyu was so hard on him.
"Are you serious right now? Dude, you were reprimanded for arguing with the sensei for the entire class time about the negative one-twelfth sum thing," Dan said.
"There is NO WAY that the infinite sum of all positive integers is a negative fraction it makes no sense! Now, I've put some thought into that, and I think that the error is that-"
Dan and Ran both groaned.
"Oh come on, this shit's interesting!"
"See, hobbies!" Ran said, "Now what is this about? What, are they making you do quantum calculus or something and now you think you're bad at math?"
Ichika wondered why he couldn't come up with these hobbies himself. He looked at the board he was playing. For the first time in a while, he felt like he could breathe again. He thought about math and how much enjoyment it had brought him. He began to remember all the movies the three of them would watch and how he learned to cook for Rin.
How could I forget that I liked these things? Why did I even stop doing them?
He thought about the last time he had been as happy as in middle school but nothing came. It seemed like decades ago.
"First off, I hate that you just said that. Second, I had an assignment where I had to write about why I wanted to be an IS pilot. The issue is that I couldn't write it. Eventually Chifuyu got annoyed about it and asked me what I liked. I didn't know what to say."
"So, you thought that you didn't have hobbies?" Ran asked.
Ichika nodded.
If Ran was asked to make a list of all the people she knew who could be in this predicament, Ichika would've been last. She would've put herself before him. This was the same friend who would randomly show up at their door with something to do. He was the guy who dragged them to movies, the one who would tutor them, or buy them lunch. She always found his sense of humor endearing and his love for movies and chess exciting. He played football (soccer) with determination and even got in a fight for Dan. He was a loyal friend and the most motivated person she knew. That's why she wanted to share in it. She couldn't begin to imagine the type of stress he must've been under.
"Ichika you've always been a lively guy that's why I-I-I've always hung out with you."
"Smooth," Dan whispered. Ran stepped on his foot.
"Thanks Ran, you're a good friend."
"Wait, so if you don't do any of those then what do you do to relax?" Dan asked.
Ichika searched for a moment where he relaxed. He thought about his daily schedule. Wake up, go to class, most likely get hit by Chifuyu, eat, finish classes, go finish homework, and do whatever his IS friends wanted to do. There were occasional moments where he asked them to go somewhere but they usually ended up being unpleasant so he decided against doing that. It dawned on him that all of his free time was taken up following a career that he didn't like or doing activities that he had no care for. He had no time for himself.
"Nothing, I guess. I don't have time for it."
Dan wasn't sure if he had heard right. In middle school, Ichika would always put sleep and fun equal to work. It always frustrated him that Ichika would get nine hours of sleep and still get decent grades. Ichika never had to compromise on his free time and actively fought to preserve it.
"Wow seriously? You must really want to be an IS pilot man cause in middle school you would never have put up with that," Dan said.
"See that's the problem," Ichika said, "I don't think I actually want to be an IS pilot. That's why I couldn't finish that assignment."
They both looked at him. "Then why are you still there?" Ran asked.
"Yeah," Dan started, "Just transfer if you don't wanna do it."
"It's not that easy the issue is-" Ichika heard the door behind him open.
"Welcome!" Ran and Dan said instinctively.
"Hey, we've got some more IS students. Maybe we should invite them over. Quite a lot actually," Ran said.
Ichika's eyes widened. The density of the air in the Gotanda Eatery had sharply increased.
"Oh Ichika," the five voices amalgamated in a sweetly venomous melody.