Chapter 07 – The Mediocre Transfer Student (Part One)
After the incident involving Takeshi and Aiko, it's back to peaceful times in Izumizaka High. Although everyone was talking about a teacher being shown the door by the principal. In Class 1-5, Takeshi is listening to music emitted from his notebook computer as it is during break time. The other students in his class are busy with their own stuff to notice him.
All of a sudden, the screen in Takeshi's notebook computer showed a pop-up stating that he has a new e-mail message. Takeshi opens the message and finds a map with a cross on one of the chairs.
"This seems like the classroom I'm in now…" Takeshi thinks as he analyses the map.
When he clicked the cross, it changes to the words 'Find Me!" in Japanese.
Then he sees the header of the map which read: Year 1 Class 5 classroom plan.
"So it is this classroom…" Takeshi thought. "…but what is this supposed to mean…? Could it be…!"
Takeshi traced the "Find Me!" words marked on the classroom plan with the table in the real classroom and when his eyes spotted the target person sitting on its chair, Takeshi's picture is taken by the target by a small device he held in his right hand. This infuriated Takeshi, who has thoughts of going to the target person's desk and confront him. But before he could do that, he got another e-mail message from the same person who sent him the map.
The mail contained a photo of Takeshi (which was taken just now) and a small message below it. It read: I'm sorry I took your picture just now. I got your e-mail address from the discipline master before the start of today's lessons so don't feel shocked. It seems like you're more comfortable with this means of communication, so until you're ready to talk to me, I hope we can stay this kind of communication for now, okay?
However, Takeshi continued to show his serious look and looks away from the target person. It seems like Takeshi doesn't want to talk to him.
Meanwhile, Aiko is looking at Takeshi from outside the classroom without his knowledge, worrying about whether he can make friends here; because if no one befriends Takeshi, she couldn't find any information about him at all!
After the break, Class 1-3 is introduced a new transfer student named Kousei Tachibana, which wowed many girls in tha class as he is very good-looking. However, he didn't seem to care about them at first. But when he first set eyes on the idol of the class Aiko Tatsuma, he immediately went up to where she is and knelt with one knee on the ground.
"Dear Aiko-san, will you be my girlfriend?" Kousei asks in a gentle voice that wowed many girls in the class once again. "We are fated to meet and to be together always…"
But this time, some of the guys in the class are showing their displeasure at Kousei.
"What are you trying to do to out class idol!" one of the guys asked with an angry tone. "You can't just have her as you please, you know!"
"Are you serious in wanting her to be your girlfriend?" another student asks him with an annoyed tone. "If you are not, you should get your hands off her now!"
"Of course I'm serious about her! That's precisely why I'm asking her out in the first place!" Kousei retorted the student back.
But this has broken the hearts of the girls in the class. Some of them are seemingly crying because of this.
Meanwhile, Tomomi is watching the situation from where she is.
"I wonder how she will react to this… she has never been asked out by any guy before…" Tomomi thought as she sees the situation unfold from her perspective.
"I…" Aiko tries to answer Kousei, who is waiting for her to reply back. "I… can't go out with you, Kousei-san."
This shocked everyone in the class. But what she said next will send vibrations of horror through Class 1-3, especially the guys.
"I… already have… someone I like…" Aiko said as her reason for her refusal.
"What?" Tomomi thought as she hears Aiko's relevation. "Don't tell me that the person is… 'him'?"
After class, Tomomi went to see Aiko about what happened during class.
"What do you mean you have someone you like?" Tomomi asked, seemingly shocked by Aiko's relevation. "I just really hope it's not true, you know."
Aiko just smiled and said: "It is true, so I can't have someone else in my heart anymore."
Tomomi just hit her own head with her palm, showing displeasure to herself.
In the evening, Takeshi is walking out of the school compound towards the gate when he saw Junpei waving his hand at him there. Junpei asks if Takeshi can go with him, Takeshi reluctantly agreed after much coaxing by Junpei.
As they arrived at the restaurant Junpei said: "I want you to meet someone." And sat down on one of the seats that faces each other. Suddenly, a young girl with golden hair, who is wearing a waitress suit, runs over to them.
"Hello! May I take your order please?" the girl cheerfully asked with a smile.
Junpei looks happy to see her here.
Takeshi looks at the menu and decides for a chocolate cheesecake and a chicken salad, but what Junpei asks for makes Takeshi feel weird.
"The usual, please." Junpei replied the waitress.
"Yes, darling!" the girl smiled brilliantly and went into the kitchen.
When she left, Junpei turned to look at Takeshi. But what Takeshi's face showed was one of annoyance.
"What is the meaning of this?" Takeshi said in a serious tone. "Why did she address you as 'darling'?"
Junpei can only giggle shyly.
"That's how she's like, you know." He answered, which made Takeshi very embarassed.
Twelve minutes later, the same waitress returned with the prepared food for Junpei and Takeshi.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, but here you go!" she placed their ordered food on their table, then continued standing there, smiling.
"Why is she still standing here?" Takeshi was surprised at the waitress's action.
This alarmed Junpei, who hurried to say something.
"Oops! I forgot to introduce her to you, Takeshi. Takeshi, this waitress is Nishino Tsukasa." He aims his eyes at the waitress to introduce Tsukasa to Takeshi, which caught him by surprise!
"What? Don't tell me she's that famous pastry chef who returned from Paris?" Takeshi thinks as he sees her waitress uniform. "What the hell is she doing here serving customers?"
"Um… why are you in a waitress uniform?" Takeshi asks Tsukasa.
"Oh! I'm sorry I came out to meet you in this attire." Tsukasa said apologetically.
"You mean… you're the one I'm supposed to meet today?" Takeshi asks in a shocked manner.
"Yup!" Junpei answered Takeshi's question. "You mean you don't know that?"
Tsukasa extended her hand to Takeshi, smiling.
"Nice to meet you! My name is Nishino Tsukasa!" Tsukasa introduced herself.
But Takeshi reluctantly tries to shake her hand, and when he finally grips her hand he suddenly squeezes it with all his power.
"OUCH! My hand!" Tsukasa cried in pain as her hand's being squeezed.
"Takeshi-kun, what are you doing? Stop it!" Junpei pulls Takeshi's hand back after releasing it from Tsukasa's. "Sorry for the trouble, Nishino."
"Uh… It's okay…" Tsukasa smiled embarassingly. "…I didn't know he is a shy person…"
After they have resumed to calm mode, Tsukasa sat down beside Junpei.
"So… why are you dressed like this?" Takeshi asks her in a serious tone.
"Oh… I'm just helping the waitresses out." Tsukasa replied, followed by a giggle.
"I didn't know you're serving customers, Nishino." Junpei interrupted their conversation. "I thought you're the boss here in charge of…"
The words that just came out of Junpei's mouth alarmed Takeshi.
"You mean… she's the boss here?" Takeshi asks shockingly.
This forced Junpei to cover his own mouth!
"Oops! I told her not to tell him yet I leaked it out myself!" thought Junpei as he covers his mouth in shock.
Tsukasa just giggled at Junpei.
"Don't worry Junpei. Isn't it an open secret that I'm in charge here?" Tsukasa asked. "How would it hurt if I tell one more person that I'm the lady boss?"
Takeshi in the meantime was silent all this while.
"Hey, Takeshi-kun!" Tsukasa switched her attention onto her new guest in the restaurant and asked. "How do you think of my food? Is it okay for you?"
Takeshi thinks about it for a while, and gave a seemingly convincing reply.
"I think that the cheesecake could be a little better by using dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. The only problem with this cheesecake is that it is somewhat too sweet for my liking. Perhaps it's just me that I don't like anything too sweet because it gives a illusion that life is a sweet one but in fact it is very tough and painful…" Takeshi said blantantly.
This worried Tsukasa.
"Oh my!" Tsukasa said while covering her mouth with one hand, then changed to a seemingly worried face. "I didn't know you had sad experiences before you came here…"
Then she noticed the KaiXuan Blades that was hung on both sides of Takeshi's waist.
"Um… what are these for…?" Tsukasa asked Takeshi, seemingly scared by the blades that he's carrying with him. "Aren't they… a little… dangerous…?"
"Oh I forgot about these…" Junpei tries to speak in defence of Takeshi. "These are for his self-protection. He almost got killed at a very young age so he always carry his blades with him. He never uses them unless absolutely necessary."
However, Tsukasa still looked a little scared while sitting down beside Junpei.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Junpei asked concerningly to her.
"Okay, darling." Tsukasa resumed her smiling face, but what she said just now alarmed Takeshi.
"Why do you call him by 'darling'?" Takeshi said in a serious tone.
This surprised Tsukasa, who flashed a happy smile at him after that.
"I have to get used to it you know." She replied. "…because we plan to get married next year!"
This shocked Junpei out of his wits!
"What?" Junpei cried. "So soon? I thought you wanted to get married when your business becomes stable enough…?"
"But I can't wait to be your beloved wife and take care of you, darling…" Tsukasa replied to Junpei in a very sexy voice.
This will really going to make Takeshi puke, because he doesn't believe in true love at all!
His reaction? He stood up and went to the gents without letting them know!
When they realised that Takeshi is missing, they start to panic and searched everywhere for him.
"Takeshi-kun! Takeshi-kun! Where are you?" Tsukasa cried out for our hero with a worried look on her face.
"No way! He can go missing in this restaurant?" thought Junpei as he helps Tsukasa.
Then suddenly…
"What are you guys doing in here!" a person came out of the Gents and stood there.
When they turned around and saw the person, they rushed to him and tried to care for him.
"Takeshi-kun! We were so worried! Where have you been?" Tsukasa carried a towel to dry Takeshi's hair.
"Where are you just now, you made us so worried." Junpei also helped Tsukasa out while saying this.
"I just went to the Gents." Takeshi replied their worries. "…and what makes you guys so worried?"
Just at this time…
"Excuse me…" a female voice was heard saying. "…is there any seat for us…?"
Tsukasa saw two high-school girls standing near the entrance of her restaurant and rushed to welcome them in. But the moment Takeshi raised his head to focus on the two girls who came into this place. He was in for a shock!
"What? It's… you girls…?" Takeshi seems shocked.
Both girls are equally shocked too!
"…Kitahara-san, Manaka-san…" the long-haired girl exclaimed, seeming to know the two guys.
"Not you again, Kitahara?" the shorter-haired girl said with a little anguish on her face.
"Um… you're…" Junpei asks the two girls.
"Oh, sorry I forgot to introduce ourselves…" The long-haired girl replied. "My name is Tatsuma Aiko, and this is my friend Rinsen Tomomi. And I'm your fan, Manaka-san!"
"?" thought Tomomi, who didn't know (or simply forgot) that Aiko is a fan of Junpei's works.
However, as soon as Aiko's eyes are fixed on Takeshi who is beside him, she stopped moving herself.
Both Takeshi and Aiko were speechless, but moments later Aiko moves her vision away from him with her face seemingly gone red.
"What the heck are you doing?" Tomomi asked shockingly. "Why do you behave like that? Snap out of it!"
Silence ensued. But it was Takeshi who first broke it.
"Why are you girls here anyway?" Takeshi asked Aiko and Tomomi in a serious tone.
"Why do you mean we're here?" Tomomi argued back, but Aiko replied in a courteous way.
"Um… we want to check out this restaurant which had just opened a few weeks ago and try the food there, and…" Aiko couldn't continue what she said when her eyes landed on Takeshi, but tries hard. "So… what brings you here…, Kitahara-san…?"
"Junpei-san just dragged me here to meet his girlfriend." Takeshi replied back in his usual serious and calm manner. "I wonder what's up with him you know…"
But as soon as Takeshi mentioned the word 'girlfriend', Aiko was stunned and "retreated" into her own mind about what she has been thinking of a fantasy she hopes that will come true…
In this dream Aiko was seen running towards a guy, and it is raining in that scene. She met him at the side of a street and carries a small box. She opens the box and shows it to the guy. Inside the box is a chocolate with the word 'Love' written on it. Then she says: "I hope we can go out together… because I like you." Then the fantasy ends right there.
"Aiko! Aiko! Wake up!" Tomomi kept shaking her out of her fantasy.
This indeed woke Aiko back into reality.
"What are you thinking!" Tomomi asked her best friend. "Don't tell me…?"
"No way! That's not what I'm thinking right now." Aiko replied back (with some sweatdrops).
Takeshi, Junpei and Tsukasa remained silent for a few seconds, until…
"Hello! Is there anyone here…?" a male voice cried out.
Everybody went to the entrance and saw…
"…Kousei-san? Why are you here?" Aiko reacted first and asked with surprise.
As soon as Kousei's eyes saw Aiko's cute face, his eyes become heart-shaped immediately!
"Whoa!" Kousei rushed to Aiko and held her hand, which shocked everybody!
"It must be fate! It must be fate! It must be fate that I will meet you here!" he declared.
Before he could say further, Tomomi quickly seperated the two and said: "How could you hold Aiko's hand like that! Don't you like her because she's the class idol?"
This shocked everybody, including Takeshi and Junpei!
"What do you mean by 'class idol'?" Tsukasa asked Tomomi.
"Everybody at Izumisaka High knows that Aiko's the number one idol in her class, and maybe in the whole level too!" Tomomi confessed out what she knew.
Meanwhile, Takeshi is thinking about this situation deep in his mind.
"Why the heck is everybody in her class going after this young girl…? Don't they have anything better to do?" he thought deeply.
What will he respond to this situation? Find out more in the next chapter!
Note: Because of the text formatting limitations used in I published the same story on another website: http/ . If you have difficulties reading the story here you can go to that website to read the same story in a more structured format. Thanks!