Enter Umehara Masayoshi, Junichi`s best friend

"Hey Boss," I said as I saw Junichi, my boy, who I have known since elementary school

"Yo Umehara," Junichi said to me as we did our usual handshake, "so how did it go with Kaoru?" I asked

"Nothing much, we just walked around the mall yesterday," Junichi told me, "you lucky dog, lend me some of your luck, by the way, you read the magazine I gave you yesterday?" I asked Junichi

"Nah sorry bro, I`ve been hanging around Kaoru that I haven`t had time to read them," Junchi told me to which I grabbed Junchi and gave him a noogie, "you son of a bitch, you tryna sell me out?" I asked him

"Bro, I`ve cut off watching porn since I`m thinking about getting into a serious relationship," Junichi told me

"Damn is that so? You`re finally becoming a man" I replied

"Aww stop it," Junichi said to me as we walked into school

Classroom

"Hey Kaoru, hey Keiko," I said as I saw both of them

"Oh hey, Junichi. what`s up Umehara?" Kaoru said as she saw us, but Keiko didn`t really say much to me, I wonder why

"Hey Junichi, thanks for taking me out," Kaoru said to Junichi

"Hey, Keiko, what`s up?" I said

"Nothing much" Keiko replied which at that moment the bell rang and our homeroom teacher came in "All right take your seat everyone," Takahashi sensei said to everyone

After class

"Man finally it`s lunchtime," I said as me and Junichi sat down for lunch, "where`s Kaoru by the way?" I asked

"I think she`s with Keiko right now," Junichi told me, "why don`t we invite them over for lunch" I proposed

"I think they`re on the staircase," Junichi told me as I headed to go find them

Rooftop

"Oh there they are," I said as I was near them, but I heard them talking

"I`m jealous of you Kaoru, you have a nice guy like Junichi looking after you," Keiko said to Kaoru

"Oh, he`s not anything special," Kaoru said

"It`s just I wished there was someone like that for me, I like someone else in our class" Keiko replied

"Is it Umehara?" Kaoru replied while teasing her

"No way, I don`t even like him, I don`t think we`ll fit together as a couple since I don`t see any redeeming qualities in him" Keiko answered back which I managed to hear in full detail which to me felt like getting shot in the chest to which I walked back down as I didn`t feel like getting them anymore, I just felt sad and upset

"Was that Umehara?! If it was, this could get messy since I think he heard everything Keiko said about him" Kaoru thought as she worried he heard everything

"Oh hey Umehara, did you find them?" Junichi asked me

"I think it`s better we eat by ourselves," I said as I forced a smile on my face

After school

"Hey, me and Kaoru are gonna hang out tonight, so I`ll see you around," Junichi said as he and Kaoru left with each other

"Yeah have a good time tonight Boss," I said as I walked alone as usual still feeling depressed, "damn even a girl as innocent as Keiko thinks I`m nothing but a pervert, what does that say about what the other girls at school think about me? I`ve been nothing but having a positive attitude and being outgoing, what more do I still need to get a girl to notice me" I thought as I sat on a park bench wondering what I should do next, "maybe I`ll just walk around town tonight to clear my mind" I said as I walked into the metropolitan area

Tokyo Square

"Man it sure is busy around this time," I thought as I walked through, "what should I change about myself, my personality? hair? porn habits?, probably all three" I wondered, "I need a haircut" I said to myself as I saw a barbershop up ahead and went in

Barbershop

"Hey son, what can I help you with?" said the barber

"Just give me a fade haircut," I told the barber

"Alright will do," said the barber as he put the cloth over my shoulder

10 minutes later

"Alright it`s finished, 1100 yen," said the barber

"Here you go, thanks," I said as I paid the barber and left the store

Back Outside

"This hairstyle feels so different I thought as I walked, maybe I`ll kill some time at the arcade," I thought as I headed to the arcade

Inside the arcade

"Damn, I don`t feel any happier here, maybe it`s because of the couples that are here as well or may I`m just damn pissed the nice girl won`t give me a chance," I thought angrily as I tried to focus on an arcade game, but alas I lost the game

"Well shit, that`s too bad, but at least I have all these prizes, " I thought as one thing people don`t know about me is that I`m surprisingly good at arcade games, "let me get out of here before I get sick," I thought as I left, "man why am I getting so worked up over something Keiko is saying, we barely even talk to each other, could it be that I have feelings for Keiko, I mean she`s a good looking girl and I wouldn`t mind being her boyfriend" I thought, "Maybe I`ll get a bite to eat back at my restaurant" I thought

Masayoshi Sushi Restaurant

"Yeah, my family owns a sushi restaurant and apparently I`m going to inherit this shop once I`m old enough" I always say while trying to impress everyone, but it doesn`t work on girls, I wonder why?" I thought as I entered, surprisingly it`s busy today as I sit on a booth chair while waiting to be served

"Umehara, what`s up man?" said Ken, an employee who`s been working at my family`s restaurant for years

"Not much, just give me pork ramen and a roll of eel sushi and salmon," I asked as fortunately since this is my family`s restaurant, I don`t necessarily have to pay since my Dad will probably just let it go

"Coming right up," said Ken as he prepared my order, "well I guess the one cure for dealing with rejection is always gonna be food," I thought to myself, but I still couldn`t help watching all these couples dining in together and enjoying themselves, "damn why can`t I have something like this, is it really that hard for a nice guy to find a girlfriend" I thought, but luckily the food was ready

"Alright, let`s eat," I said as I broke off a pair of chopsticks and dug in

After Dinner

"That hit the spot, but I`m still depressed as crap," I thought as I put my head down

"Hey kid, you alright? You`re not in your usual cheerful state" Ken said as he noticed my posture

"No, it`s nothing," I said while trying to deny what had happened

"Come one, you can tell me, I`ll listen" Ken replied

"Alright fine, how would you feel if the nice girl claimed that you`re not even worth her time or that she doesn`t see you as boyfriend material?" I asked Ken

"Well for starters, I`d feel some type of way, but then I`ll pick myself up from the floor and just deal with it, it`s not the end of the world" Ken explained to me

"But how would you do that?" I asked Ken

"Well clear your mind, hit the weight room and focus on your goals, didn`t you say that wanted to inherit this shop? If that`s your goal, hit the weights and get stronger since you`ll be handling a lot of fish" Ken explained to me

"I guess I could try that, thanks Ken," I said

"No problem, just give it some time, you`ll get over it, here have some amazake," Ken said as he handed me a cup of it

"Are you sure, this has alcohol ?" I asked

"You`ll be fine, you`re practically an adult anyways" Ken replied

"Alright, bottoms up," I said as I drank the Amazake

Umehara`s Home

"Since we own a sushi restaurant, it makes sense that we live upstairs from the sushi restaurant as it makes work more convenient from us," I thought as I walked upstairs to the door of where we live, "Mom and Dad will likely be working a bit late tonight, so I have some time to myself, guess I`ll take a bath" I thought as I headed into the bathroom

"Man what a tough day," I thought as I leaned back, "Keiko thinks I`m not compatible with her, she didn`t even say once good thing about me," I thought while laughing a bit, "I hope Boss is having fun on his date, I`m sure he is after all his girlfriend is Kaoru, but sometimes I feel that I`m getting in the way of their relationship since I can`t find a girlfriend and Junichi just hangs out with me so I don`t go astray, maybe I should just leave boss alone with Kaoru so I don`t get in their way" I thought as I realized that I may have a new problem in my mind

"Man I don`t even feel like jerking off tonight after all this," I thought as I took the erotic magazines and videotapes on my desk and put them away, "what am I gonna do with myself?" I still wondered as I laid down on my bed, "I guess I`ll actually do my homework this time for once" I said as I got up and started doing my homework, "maybe little by little, I`ll change myself, there`s hope for everyone" I thought as I focused on my homework

After a while 11:00 pm

"Finished," I said as I put my homework in my bag and got ready for bed, "maybe I`ll hit the weight room tomorrow," I thought as I knocked out and went to sleep


The Next Day at School

"Geez, I`m tired," Umehara thought as he walked through the hallways and immediately heard people talking about him

"Wow, Umehara looks different, he looks pretty good compared to his usual dull self," said a girl in the hallway

"I bet he probably got rejected again no surprise since he always does with any girl," said a popular girl in my class

"Geez, can`t people learn to keep their opinions," Umehara thought as he put his head down for a while until Junichi came up to him

"Yo Umehara, you good?" Junichi asked Umehara as he laid down on his desk

"Yeah, just didn`t get any sleep," Umehara said as he got up from his desk while his eyes had some bags under it

"I can see that, were you up all night masturbating?" Junichi asked

"Nah I didn`t even do that last night, I did my homework, but I couldn`t sleep the whole night" Umehara explained

"I see you got a haircut," Junichi said as he noticed the new haircut

"Yeah, I decided to get a new hairstyle" Umehara replied

"I can hardly recognize you," Junichi said with a laugh as he took his seat as class was starting

Lunchtime

"Hey Umehara, let`s have lunch together, Kaoru and Keiko want to have lunch with us as well," Junichi said to Umehara

"Nah I`m good, I got stuff to take care of, why don`t you go on ahead without me," Umehara said as he left Junichi by himself

"Wait," Junichi said as he tried to figure out what he had to do, "what could Umehara be up to? He never skips having lunch with us" he thought

"Sorry Boss, I`m doing this to not get in your way," Umehara thought as he headed down the stairs and to which he ran into Kaoru and Keiko

"Yo Umehara, let`s all have lunch together," Kaoru said cheerfully to which Umehara cut her off

"Sorry, can`t I have some business to attend to," Umehara said as he walked away from both of them and headed down to the weight room

"What`s going on with him? He never skips lunch with us, whatever his loss" Kaoru thought as they walked to go see Junichi

"The look on his eyes wasn`t the same as usual, I wonder what happened to him?" Keiko thought as she had noticed something was up with Umehara


A week later during lunchtime

"What the heck has happened to Umehara?! He`s skipped having lunch with us for a whole week" Junichi thought as now he was worried about his friend

"Don`t tell me that Umehara took what Keiko said about him to heart, this isn`t good" Kaoru thought as she felt this was the cause for Umehara`s sudden change, "hey why don`t you go find Umehara and see what`s going on with him, me and Keiko are gonna hang on the roof for a bit" Kaoru said to Junichi

"Yeah, I`ll go look for him," Junichi said as he walked out of the classroom and into the hallway to find his friend along the way he ran into Takahashi-sensei

"Sensei, have you seen Umehara anywhere?" Junichi asked her, "Oh Umehara, he went to the weight room, he`s been going there every single day during lunch, but I gotta say I kinda miss the goofy side of him" Takahashi-sensei replied, "thanks sensei" Junichi said as he ran to the weight room and when he got there, he indeed did find Umehara who was in the middle of doing a set on the bench press wearing a tank-top

"Umehara, there you are," Junichi said as Umehara noticed him

"Oh hey Boss, guess you finally found me," Umehara said as he got off the bench

Kaoru and Keiko`s side

"Why didn`t you go with Junichi to check on Umehara?" Keiko asked while they were on the rooftop

"I feel it`s better the boys sort this problem out, by the way, do you remember anything last week about you talking about finding a boyfriend?" Kaoru asked

"Oh yeah, you asked me about if I considered Umehara as a real boyfriend candidate, I said that I wasn`t interested as him and I don`t make a good couple" Keiko responded

"There`s the problem, while you said all, you weren`t aware that Umehara heard every little thing you said about him, you gotta think before you say something about someone," Kaoru said as she told Keiki that Umehara did indeed hear every bad thing she said about him

"What?! Umehara heard everything?! This is all my fault then, what do I do then? I`ve probably crushed Umehara`s pride by now" Keiko said nonchalantly

"Well first I think you should apologize, but even then, you should give Umehara a chance, he`s not that bad of a guy, maybe get to know him better as a person," Kaoru said while giving her advice

"Does Umehara like reading dirty magazines though?" Keiko asked

"Well yes that`s true, but the reason boys do that is that they don`t have a significant other in which they use those magazines as a substitute for the void in their heart if you show interest in him, he might put the magazines down and pay attention" Kaoru explained

"How am I gonna get close to Umehara to apologize," Keiko asked

"Why don`t we follow Umehara tonight and it`ll show you the real side of who Umehara is as a person

"All right, I guess I could learn more about him," Keiko thought as she still felt uncertain

Back to Umehara and Junichi

"Bro, what`s going on with you? Why have you been skipping lunch with us?" Junichi asked

"Isn`t it obvious boss, I`m letting you have time alone with Kaoru since if I`m hanging around you guys, I`ll only get between you and Kaoru" Umehara replied to which Junichi grabbed Umehara and threw him against the wall

"Don`t give me that crap, you know that`s not true, we`ve been friends since elementary school, stop isolating yourself from us just because you feel that way" Junichi said in anger

"Boss I`m doing this for your own good, I`ll just be a hindrance to you if I keep hanging out with you since I can`t find a girlfriend no matter what I do" Umehara replied

"Umehara did something happen with a girl? Just tell me what`s going on, I`m your best friend so I feel I should get answers" Junichi asked

"Alright fine, I`ll tell you," Umehara said as he finally gave in

After explaining the situation to Junichi

"So this is all happening because you heard Keiko say she didn`t like you?" Junichi asked

"Yeah, it sucks that even a girl as nice as Keiko doesn`t like me, what chance do I have with any other girl in this school?" Umehara said sounding down

"Wait do you have feelings for Keiko?" Junichi asked to which Umehara stopped, "what do you mean?" Umehara asked, "Why are taking this so hard to heart? If it was any other girl, you wouldn`t have cared and moved on, is Keiko special to you?" Junichi asked

"I guess, she`s been single for a while now and every day we see each other, the more I realize that I`ll run out of time and have regrets, not to mention she`s so cute and innocent" Umehara explained

"Kinda like those girls in those magazines huh?" Junichi said teasingly

"Ahh shut up, you get my point, I wouldn`t mind having a girl like Keiko be my girlfriend" Umehara replied

"So just shoot your shot then, you`ll never know how she feels if you don`t try, me and Kaoru will be behind you regardless of what happens," Junichi said offering him encouragement

"You know what, you`re right, it`s time I stop being a coward and riding on regret", thanks Boss," Umehara said as he had regained his vigor and was back to normal, "I`m still gonna work out though, you know I want to inherit the sushi restaurant once I graduate" Umehara added

"That`s cool, let`s hang out today after school, we haven`t hung out in a while," Junichi said

"Sure, you wanna go fishing, I`ll teach you" Umehara proposed

"Yeah sure, let`s go fishing then" Junichi


After School at the docks

"Wow, look at you go," Junichi said as he watched Umehara catch fish after fish

"Yeah, I learned how to fish at a young age" Umehara replied as he put in new bait on his rod

"I wish I was as good as you," said Junichi, but he got a text from Kaoru explaining their plan to leave both Keiko and Umehara alone, "Hey Umehara, I gotta get going, something came up," Junichi said as he got up

"Oh alright, go take care of what you need," Umehara said as he continued fishing

"Everything all`s set up, Kaoru execute step 2," Junichi said to Kaoru through a call

Kaoru and Keiko`s side

"Alright, you heard that, he`s all alone, now`s your chance," Kaoru said to Keiko

"I don`t know about this, what if he`s really mad at me," Keiko said anxiously

"Do you really think Umehara`s the type to get mad at someone, just apologize and you`ll be fine, now off you go" Kaoru said as she pushed Keiko towards the direction of Umehara

"All right, here goes nothing," Keiko said as she went down to the docks

Umehara`s side

"Hmm, wonder what I can catch?"Umehara thought as he fixed up his rod when he heard a familiar voice approaching him, "are the fish biting?" said Keiko as she sat next to him on the dock

"Keiko?! what brings you here?" Umehara asked as he was shocked that the girl who shot him down

"I just wanted to come talk with you," Keiko said as she looked out into the sea

"So what`s up then?" Umehara asked as he checked on his ice cooler full of fish

"The truth is I wanted to apologize for all the hurtful things I said about you, Kaoru told me everything about how you heard everything I said and how you feel that you`re in Junichi and Kaoru`s way by being around them, can you ever forgive me?" Keiko said as she hoped that she didn`t mess up which at that moment Umehara got up

"Well the truth is hearing that hurt, but I feel that it was a wakeup call that I needed since I heard that, I`ve felt healthier than ever," Umehara said as he stretched himself out

"I`m glad to see you back to normal, but Umehara the truth is I`d like to get to know you a bit better," Keiko said shyly

"Is that so? In that case, take this fishing rod, I`ll teach you how to fish, here catch" Umehara said as he threw a fishing rod to Keiko

"Oh uh, how do I do this?" Keiko said nervously, "don`t worry I`ll show you how," Umehara said as he guided her, so throw your fishing line into the water and wait for the line to move slightly, "okay I think I can do this" Keiko said as she waited for a bit, but the line suddenly moved, "pull it in, this is a big one" Umehara said, "Alright I got this" Keiko said as she tried to pull the rod back, but it seems that the catch was a big once and Keiko was struggling, I don`t think I can pull it in" Keiko said, "all right then, let`s pull it in together" Umehara said as he helped Keiko pull the fish in, but the pressure of pulling the fish was so strong that once they pulled the fish in both of them ended up falling back on the ground

"Oh crap, Keiko are you okay?" Umehara said as he helped her up

"Yeah I`m alright" Keiko replied, "so what was the type of fish we caught anyways?" Keiko asked

"The fish that was just caught was a Longfin Tuna, it can weigh as much as 80 pounds so you caught a big one, you could become an even better fisherman than I could," Umehara said jokingly to which both Keiko and Umehara started laughing

"It seems like they`ve made up just fine," Junichi said as he and Kaoru were watching from a distance, "I`m glad everything is fixed," Kaoru thought as she and Junichi walked away

Masayoshi Sushi Restaurant after the events

"Let`s eat, you must be hungry after all of this" Umehara said as they had dinner at his family`s restaurant

"Wow, I never knew that your family owned a sushi restaurant, that`s so cool," Keiko said as they chatted

"I`ll say, I never thought I`d see the day my son bringing a girl back here for dinner," said Umehara`s mother as she had butt into their conversation much to Umehara`s chagrin

"Mom, stop it you`re embarrassing me!" Umehara said seeming embarrassed, but to his surprised Keiko was laughing, "oh my gosh, it`s funny seeing that side of you" Keiko said

"Oh, you really think so?" Umehara said while laughing a bit, "it`s kinda nice seeing Keiko laugh and smile like that, hopefully, our relationship can get better over time" Umehara thought as they continued their chat

Keiko`s House

"Thanks for walking me home Umehara, it was nice of you to give me the tuna we caught together," Keiko said as they walked up to her house as she was carrying the tuna they caught with it being sliced up

"Yeah, it`s no problem, I`m glad you enjoyed yourself," Umehara said

"I had way more fun than I thought I would, you`re a really fun and funny guy, we should hang out and talk more often" Keiko replied, "oh yeah one more thing before you go" Keiko said as she took Umehara`s phone and put her contact info in, "call me sometime, I`ll see you tomorrow at school" Keiko said as she entered through the gate and went inside her house

"Yeah, I`ll see you tomorrow," Umehara said as he left, but when no one was in sight he did a fist pump and celebrated, "I did it finally, no more lonely nights read magazines and watching videotapes," Umehara thought as now he realized he finally might have a chance

"You know what, maybe he is boyfriend material after all" Keiko thought with a smile as she watched Umehara celebrate from her window


Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I`m going to be working on this fanfic series and the School Days Fanfic simultaneously since my favorite anime is Amagami SS so there`ll be more content to read, as always feel free to leave a review on what you think and any ideas you may have to improve this series, next chapter update will likely be somewhere this week, see you all in the next chapter, peace