A/N: Whew, all that action non-stop must have been exhausting. Now that training is out of the way, time for some breather chapters and some light-hearted scenes before we get right into the action again. This chapter was a lot longer than I expected, so I shaved off some scenes to be used as the next chapter. All your support is highly appreciated!
After school had ended, Mamoru had told Narita that they were going to head to the city to have some fun and that all of them would be staying over at his place for the weekend. He had the school nurse contact the guardians of Tateyama and Hideki about this and had received permission from them before they had left the school. Narita lent them a few wads of cash just in case and the boys rushed to the station to take a train to the city. The silver monorail heading into the the bustling city of Mitakihara, the ride took only a few minutes of their time.
They arrived in the main city where towering buildings, shops and malls were all you could find as crowds of people could be seen everywhere. Tourists, shoppers and more gave life to this bright city as the group got off the train and headed to the giant dome-shaped building that was one of the most popular shopping complexes in town. Through a small bridge, itt was connected to a tall building of 40 floors which served as a popular spot to take wide pictures of the city and had several clubs that only high-class people had the luxury of entering.
Mamoru instructed his friends to meet at the bridge around a specific time, telling them to relax and do whatever they want today as a celebration for completing their training. They all went their separate paths around the dome-shaped mall as everyone looked like they had things to do in this place. Mamoru had headed off somewhere in the upper levels, Hideki just wandered off, and Takuya ran into the crowd with Sanbey like a happy child. Meanwhile, Tateyama was patiently waiting at the main entrance for a certain someone.
He made sure he looked his best, straightening his hair, fixing his uniform and chewing a few candy mints he bought from a store as Tateyama waited beside several couples from his school that were all talking about places to go. He held onto the straps of his bag and shuffled around uncomfortably, At last, the person he waited for came, as Tomoe Mami came through the entrance. They had promised to meet up here after their small meeting at school after all, and Tateyama waved at the blonde girl once he saw her.
She spot Tateyama and quickly approached him, her schoolbag hung under one arm, "I'm sorry I'm late. I had to attend to some business before I came here," she apologized with a small frown and one hand on her cheek.
"I-It's OK, Tomoe," Tateyama stammered, his cheeks slightly turning red. Not wanting his senior to feel bad for herself, he tried to make her feel better by changing the subject to something else, "I was just looking around for a place to talk. I found a small ice-cream parlor. We can talk there. I-If you would like to, I mean," he held the straps of his laptop bag tightly, waiting for her reply.
A relieving smile came to Tomoe as she nodded at his offer, "Of course. Shall we?"
Walking side by side, he guided his senior to the parlor through the crowds of people in the shopping complex. The place was full of tourists, students and other sorts of shoppers, so they had little space between each other as they walked, making Tateyama feel a bit embarrassed to be this close to a girl. He didn't like it when anyone he wasn't fond of interrupted his personal space, but being by her side felt a bit different. At moments, he couldn't help but stare at her for a bit and appreciate the moment.
They arrived at the ice-cream parlor and found some seats next to the large windows. The place was a bit empty than most of the other stores, the checkered floors mopped until they shined as Tateyama could pick up tons of sweet scents in the air. They took their orders and when the waiter left the table, there was a small pause between the two. Only until now did they not realize that they hadn't said anything to each other for a while and they both waited for each other to speak up. To think this all happened because they bumped into each other on a rainy morning.
Tateyama with his hands fiddled underneath the table, trying to find something to say and not blabber it out incoherently. He was the best at being calm, yet, talking to her was a challenge he found harder than most of his Puerum Magi training, "T-Thank you, for sharing your umbrella," he murmurred without thinking, "I didn't get to thank you when we got to school. You really helped me there."
"Oh, you're welcome," Tomoe said with a smile that made his heart flutter. She traced a circle on the table with a finger as she looked at the umbrella hanging on her bag, "I'm sorry that I just left you in the hall when the bell rang. I didn't trouble you in any way, did I?"
"No. It was fine. We were both late. I'm sure you were busy," Tateyama's eyes wandered from the window, to the table and other places until he unknowingly ended up just staring at Tomoe. She caught him looking at her and he turned away, face turning red again as he realized what he had unknowingly done. This got a hearty laugh out of her as Tateyama covered his face with a hand in embarassment. From her pleasant smile, to her gentle eyes and refined posture, he just found her captivating to look at.
The waiter came and placed their ice-cream on the table with their utensils and cup of tea Tomoe wanted. Two big sundaes, bigger than he had expected, were sprinkled with chocolate bits as the ice-cream was a mix of vanilla and strawberry. Tateyama was going to pick up his spoon first, but he instead gestured Tomoe to have the first bite, saying, "Ladies first."
Tomoe chuckled at his chivalry and nodded. Picking up her spoon and taking a mouthful of her ice-cream, she cupped her cheek and gave a contented smile, taking another bite as Tateyama did the same. The ice-cream was as good as it looked, and as they ate, the parlor was playing a sort of musical of woodland guitars and pianos that brought a calm and relaxing atmosphere into the place. The place was warm enough to be comfortable and they had a good view of the city from this spot.
"Tomoe," Tateyama spoke up, already half-way done with his ice-cream. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and asked, "Just now at school. Your class. What were you doing? You looked like you were busy with something."
"Ah, I was just doing some paperwork for Teacher Kuragawa," Tomoe put down her spoon to explain, sitting straight on her seat as she sipped the cup of tea next to her hand, "The teachers were underhanded with some of their work, so I had volunteered to help"
He rasied a curious brow, further asking, "You don't hang out with anyone during lunch-time?"
Tomoe hesitated for a bit there, then shook her head with a solemn smile and brought her tea cup to her lips, "I... usually have no plans to do anything for lunch-time. I don't have anyone to be with anyway," she replied in a smaller tone.
This suddenly reminded Tateyama on how he heard Tomoe was usually seen alone after and during school. Despite her mature and formal attitude, Tomoe was never really seen in groups or hanging out with friends all the time. She's smart, kind and by-the-book, but everything about her never really gave a sense that she was that kind of person. As it is, she reminded him all too much of himself before he met Takuya, Hideki and Mamoru. All those years of being alienated for his old heart disease and facial scars made his hand shiver slightly.
The light from the sunny skies slowly began to darken as it began to get cloudy outside. The sunlight peering onto the table through the glass dimmed, and Tateyama felt inclined to ask the question, "Are you always alone?"
He looked up and saw the downhearted expression on her face that had grew while he was in thought. Tateyama was immediately worried that he had accidentally said something sensitive as Tomoe replied in a voice lacking her usual formality and grace, "No. I don't find myself in many gatherings nor social groups at school. As nice as it would sound, I am just too busy with many duties that I have to do by myself. They are just some things in my life I cannot ignore," she rubbed a small yellow ring on her hand, eyes diverted down to the table, "It's not as bad as it sounds, really. At some point, I found myself getting used to it. It gets easier, as everything does."
Tateyama placed down his spoon and hung his head in guilt. Knowing he had asked something he shouldn't have, he felt ashamed for asking something personal, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Tomoe took a spoonful of her frozen treat once more and savored its sweet taste, absently looking out the window, "Let's just say I do not have much time to enjoy myself due to special circumstances. I have very little time to do stuff like this," her lips pursed and she looked hesitant to say her next words, "So, Ikezawa, knowing this... Perhaps you would prefer if you would just forget about me? I had been thinking about this for a while, and I thought it would be best for both of us if you do not get to know me any further."
Her words shocked Tateyama, the boy unable to understand just what would make her think that would be the wisest choice to make as her expression showed that she, too, did not want this. Had she already planned to say this to him before she had arrived? His hands tightening on his lap, he felt that someone like Tomoe just didn't deserve the pain of being alone. All of this kindness and modestly she had shown him in just a few hours - No other girl he had met made him feel this sort of sensation in his chest whenever he looked at her or walked by her side. He then gave a hard look at her, and whispered, "No."
Tomoe looked up, surprised by this answer. He could tell others had been through what he was experiencing and just accepted it. But he was different. He wasn't going to just give up if he could help it. Lowering his view to the table, he took in a deep breath before he said his next words, "Even if we can't meet like this again... I don't want to forget you, Tomoe. I-I know what it is like to be alone, to distance others because of certain circumstances... But, I just can't do this. Your kindness is something I cannot forget. Even if we just met a few hours ago, I-I w-want to be... by your side," there was no reply as Tateyama waited for one. Looking up, he saw that Tomoe was blushing hard, making him do the same as he lost that calm tone in his voice again right away, "I mean... What I wanted to say was..."
Slowly, the edges of Tomoe's mouth turned upwards as she started to chuckle lightly, defusing the tension around them as Tateyama felt the hot steam just pour out of his ears. He didn't know what he just said or what made him do it. Everything he felt just came out of his mouth without any sort of thought put into it. This girl was really making him do all these sort of things he wouldn't normally do, but oddly enough, he didn't really mind. He honestly loved it.
Clasping her hands together, Tomoe's smile created that warm feeling in his chest again as she looked happier than ever, "Thank you, Ikezawa. No one has really said that to me before. Are you... really considering this?"
"Y-Yes, Tomoe," Tateyama's muttered and nodded weakly, "I promise you won't regret this," he picked up his spoon again and was going to finish his ice-cream when he noticed that both of theirs had melted while they were talking. Tomoe started to laugh, and it proved infectious as Tateyama quietly did the same. After a few minutes, he called the waiter and stood up to pay for their treats, taking out his wallet and giving the amount he needed to pay. He looked back at Tomoe and asked, "Do you... want to walk around?"
He got a smile and a nod as an answer as she stood up and followed him out of the parlor, asking sweetly, "Shall we visit the cake store?"
In the upper levels of the mall, Mamoru followed the scent of alcohol, laughter and the sounds of classic 80s Western rock-music to one of his favorite places in town. His school bag hanging tightly onto his back and his wood-carving chisel kept safely in his breast pocket, the nostalgic sight of the bar named the "Hermit Purple" brought a smile to his face as the the sliding doors opened up for him to enter. The place was lively as ever with people drinking, pieces of painted and wooden art displayed all over the place and a few sober customers playing a game of hatchet toss in the corner of the bar. As Mamoru walked in, he nonchalantly walked by the rowdy customers with his usual smug smile.
The man in charge of the place was the big old English bartender with grey hair and a grizzled beard, wiping a mug clean at the counter with his thick arms stretching the sleeves of his shirt. The big man saw the boy coming towards him and grinned from ear-to-ear, quipping, "Well, look who came strolling back in here. Ha! Good to see ya, sunshine!" he greeted Mamoru with his deep, loud voice as he ruffled Mamoru's hair once he came close. His gloved hand was bigger than Mamoru's entire head.
Mamoru chuckled lightly, "It's nice to see you, too, Joseph," he fixed his hair with a comb he had in his pocket and straightened his green fringes to their proper places before he sat on the bar stool and placed his heavy bags below him, rolling his shoulders from the weight it had put on him.
Joseph slid a mug of beer to a customer that called him and continued to clean the empty one in his hand, "So, are you here to give any new pieces of your work, or do you just want a nice, cold glass of Heineken?" he flashed a small bottle he took out from the drawers by his knees and Mamoru had a sort of rare, tempted look on his face.
Mamoru then turned his head away, clearing his throat and regaining his calm and smug smile. He gave another small look at the bottle before admitting defeat and gestured the bartender to pour him a glass. The glass he was given was a wine glass rather than the usual mug, since Mamoru preferred to drink from that instead, "Actually, I'm mostly here to meet up with a friend. She's around my age and height - Purple hair tied into a ponytail, prefect strap on her uniform sleeve, and she is also the council president of my school. I also assume she's one of your part-time workers."
"Oh, do I sense a girl you finally set your eyes on-? Wait... Council president?" Joseph stopped pouring and looked at him with surprise and confusion, scratching his grizzled beard as he placed the bottle down with the glass half-full, "I've been wondering when you were gonna find a girl you actually liked, but haven't you two been arguing non-stop for all the trouble you and your pals keep on giving the school?" he began counting the number of incidents the Freelancers have caused on one hand while remembering them in his head, "And she is one of my part-timers? Huh, I don't remember hiring someone who looks like that."
"Well - Yes - She is that girl," Mamoru wasn't sure on how to respond to this sort of question, "But, some stuff had occurred recently, and now she's just someone I used to argue with. We're just trying to, how should I say this? Bury the hatchet over a few glasses and pints?" he waved a hand with a small shrug and Joseph grinned again while continuing to pour Mamoru a glass.
"Whatever you say, sunshine," he said as he slid a full glass in front of Mamoru and left the bottle next to it as the 80s music blared loudly around the place, irritating only to those who had never been to this place more than once as the customers like Mamoru or anyone else in the bar loved this sort of atmosphere. As long as you can tolerate the stench, customers, and other sorts of things that gave this place a little bit of character. He found it a lot more interesting than those fancy clubs and their expensive liquor bottles.
Bringing the cold drink to his lips, he took a sip and pursed his lips at the bitter taste before smiling with rare glee. Taking another sip, Mamoru then put the glass down and reached for his schoolbag at his feet. He took out a small folder from his bag, put it on the bar counter, flipped open the cover and there, he saw the information he had inherited from Homura the night that she passed away. Information on future events that he alone was entrusted with. The sight of it alone reminded him of how much Homura had counted on him to succeed, and that he and Sanbey were the only ones allowed to know of Homura's time-travelling mission.
Joseph cracked his knuckles and continued wiping the mug in his hand, looking over to the other loud patrons in the bar as Mamoru started to read the file while holding it close to his body. He closed it when Joseph called his name to talk, "I've been watching over your father recently ever since his incident. Since he's recovered from his heart attack, he's been taking it easy over at Kazamino city. It was pretty hard to keep him from getting out of bed and start working again," he chuckled, then shouted loudly at two patrons who were picking a fight with each other to stop or else he would personally throw both of them out of the place.
But his words reminded Mamoru on how Takuya's wish had affected his little brother and Mamoru's own father. The thought of Tomura finally walking after years of being in a wheelchair made him smile and until now, Mamoru couldn't find the words to thank Takuya for helping his father also recover. He really couldn't find anything that would show he had appreciated him for being his friend all this time. Continuing to read the page of his folder while Joseph was busy with stopping a fight, the first page was a small list of Witches Homura had documented. Strange illustrations of bizarrely-shaped creatures along with their Familiars were shown with data written about each and every one of their abilities and weakness. He hadn't seen anything about the Witch that was supposed to kill him and his friends if Homura had not intervened that night.
Joseph got back behind the counter, dusting his shirt as he finished kicking out two customers, "Sunshine?"
"Yes?" Mamoru closed his folder again and put it back in his bag this time, grabbing his glass and slowly downing the entire thing in one go.
"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while: Since your father is taking a small leave from his work to recover, do you want to stay over at his place at Kazamino? You would still go to school, I mean, just that after school ends, you can take a train to Kazamino and head back there instantly. Then come back here for school and yeah, you get the point," Joseph took up the bottle of Heineken and refilled Mamoru's glass until the bottle was empty, making sure every last drop had been poured, "What'd ya say?"
Mamoru curled his fingers together and placed his elbows on the counter, bringing his joined hands to his face as he thought about this offer. He really didn't mind accepting this if it was to take care of his father, but would this affect the Puerum Magi's fighting force? He would be away from Mitakihara with the exception of school-time. They had yet to encounter their first Warlock in a fight, so Mamoru had no idea on what chances they had if they were to meet one without a numerical advantage. Sighing, Mamoru smiled at the offer and said, "My apologies, but can I have some time to decide on this?"
"Sure, sure!" Joseph laughed, "There's no rush. When you finally decided if you wanna do this, give me a holler and I'll be waiting," at the corner of his eye, Joseph saw the door entrance sliding open and a familiar girl at the entrance catches his attention. She did not have the hair that matched the young lad's description, nor the outfit as she was wearing a rugged shirt with a torn jacket and baggy jeans in place of a formal school uniform. Her hair was let down to her shoulders as she scanned the place and recognized both Mamoru and him almost instantly. Joseph remembered her as the girl that asked for a part-time job a few days ago.
"Oh, and can you help me book a table at Kaizen's for me?" Mamoru asked, "My friends and I are having a celebration, so I wanted to see if you could help me book a place for us."
"Oh, Right. Sure!" Joseph scratched his beard and coughed, "I'll do it right away. But, it looks like you got some company. Not what you were expecting though, haha."
Mamoru curiously looked over his shoulder to where the old man was looking at and stared in surprise at the sight of the student council president wearing an outfit befitting a delinquent. He raised a brow, his wine glass centimeters from his lips as he never thought he would see the student council president dress so sloppily like this in all his life knowing her. Meanwhile, Joseph slid away to leave the two alone, flicking his fingers to the man charge of the music and ordering him to change the music into a smooth jazz tune.
"Mind if I have a seat?" Minami spoke and Mamoru blinked twice.
He leaned on one hand and smiled again with his usual smug tendencies, "Of course, but, now I'm not trying to be rude, but I never expected to see the day when Minami Morikawa would wear something only I only see Hideki wear. Really makes scolding him for always folding up his sleeves in school somewhat hypocritical, don't you think?"
"Hahaha, very funny," she mused with a voice laced with dry sarcasm, ironically, again something Mamoru usually only heard from Hideki. She sat on the stool beside him and waved at Joseph to call him over, "Tiger beer. 2 cans," she ordered with a tired tone, "Put it on my tab," she caught the cans sliding into her hands and put one at her side as she popped one open and drank it from the can. Joseph offered Mamoru a glass for her, but he waved it off, calling for another bottle of Heineken at the same time.
Before he left again to give the two some private time, Joseph had to urge to tease the two a little, "Didn't know you got a boyfriend, Morikawa."
"We're not together," the two replied in a flat, dismissive tone and the old man theatrically slapped himself on the forehead, finding the lack of a sense of humor in them dull.
"Of course, of course," he giggled to himself before leaving.
The hard 80s rock music in the background slowly turned into smooth jazz complete with saxophones, trumpets and bass, which Mamoru found pleasing to his ears as he drank wordlessly beside Minami. Drinking together at a bar wasn't one thing he expected to do with her out of all people, but he didn't mind the change. It was much better compared to the constant bickering and throat-grabbing that had been going on for months until now. Finishing his first bottle, Mamoru slid the empty one to his side and popped open his 2nd one with a bottle-cap opener Joseph left on the counter.
"How have you been doing recently, managing the student council and all?" Mamoru inquired, pouring the golden liquid into his empty glass of ice, "I assume everything has been going better ever since my friends and I have stopped giving you trouble."
"Don't kid yourself, Tezuka. Your Freelancer club isn't the only club whose door I have to kick open everyday," Minami spoke with a dry, dull tone, in contrast to her usual loud and demanding self that she always was in school. People really are not as simple as they seem, Mamoru thought to himself, "Helping the student council plan for the upcoming sports tournament has been a pain in the ass. But lately, I heard from Makoto that 2 of your friends got in on the team. I'll admit, even if Hakamichi's sarcasm is grating and Ikezawa creeps me out, their persistence is admirable. Though, that stunt with the fake enlistment forms is one thing that still pisses me off."
Mamoru brought a hand to his mouth and chuckled.
"What, are you trying to pick a fight with me?"
"I mean no offense, Morikawa," Mamoru shook his head, "I just never assumed that I would ever hear you speak like this. Don't blame me for this since you're usually the same in school, but I feel like I'm talking to a completely different person here," he picked up one of Minami's Tiger beer cans and checked its contents, "This can't be all from the effects of this, can't it?"
Minami took back the can, her movements a little sluggish from her drinking, "Ah, whatever. Being student council president is more tiring and annoying than you think. And I hate talking about school outside of it, so let's just change the subject, please," she then chugged down her first can and dropped it on the counter, popping open her 2nd can with only one hand, "My sister, Yuri, remember her?"
He nodded, glass held to his lips, "Ah, yes, of course. She was... rather close with Homura, am I correct?" the mentioning of her name made his drink taste bitter for a moment there for some reason.
"Yeah, she was," Minami lied her head down on the bar counter and sighed, tapping a finger on her can as she spoke, "She still hasn't gotten over her. Heck, maybe I haven't either. But, since I don't want to see her so down everyday... can you do me a favor and ask your friend Takuya if his little brother can hang out with her again? I heard about him getting out of the wheelchair, so can you please help cheer up my sister?"
Mamoru was rather surprised by her honesty. If this was the old days, he would make some sort of smug remark, but he guessed all that time with Homura really softened him up to other people a little. Smiling sincerely this time, he nodded and answered, "Of course. I'll tell him as soon as I see him," picking up his wine glass, he raised it in the air and Minami did the same with her beer can. Their drinks clinked and they drank until none was left in their hands. They said nothing to each other for a few seconds. A sort of a silent honor to a friend long-gone.
She coughed, a closed fist covering her mouth. Minami sighed again and shared a small smile with the boy next to her, letting out a little, hysteric laugh as she ruffled her hair that was as long as her little sister's, "I must be either really drunk and really crazy right now, but I'll say it. Drinking with you ain't so bad. It's just dealing with your crap in school that I find really annoying," she cracked another little hysteric laugh again as her face was completely red. Minami's alchohol tolerance was not as strong nor as weak as Mamoru had expected.
"Hmph. I assure you, the feeling is mutual," Mamoru said with a smug grin, leaning forward on the counter as he flicked his hair in a faux-dramatic fashion. Having mostly lived alone with his father prior to meeting his friends, having a person to drink with felt exquisite. Snapping his fingers to call over Joseph, he pulled out a wad of cash and across the counter, ordering, "A few more bottles and cans, please."
Joseph glanced over to the empty bottles and cans on his counter and sighed, expecting the number to rise over just half an hour, "Good grief."
Hideki held onto the headsets covering his ears as he nodded to the rythm of the song he was listening to. He had been browsing the music store for a while now and had stacked a few discs before he had gone over to one of the disc readers to test each song. 'The guardian', by JAM Project, was the song title, as the booming theatrics and chorus done by the song's multiple singers played out with amazing grace. Already liking this track, he took out the disc from the tray and tried out another, letting the headsets hang onto his neck while he fiddled with the CD cover.
The disc cover was giving him more trouble than he needed, "Stupid disc. Open already," he thought while the cover began to irritate him. He then just settled to try out the a different one and opened the cover immediately, "Finally."
Putting the disc into the tray, Hideki felt pass by him and glanced aside to to see someone exiting the doors of the store. He couldn't see who it was as the place was packed with people, but he felt an odd, familiar sensation from this. He felt this was someone he knew as he placed the headsets back on the rack and the CD back into its cover. Closing the CD tray, he settled for just one disc and placed back the others as future purchases, paying for the one in his hand before walking out of the crowded store and into the even more crowded 2nd floor he was on.
Outside, he looked around the place for anyone familiar in the crowds. He could not sense the close presence of his friends or Sanbey through their Recicio readings, so it couldn't have been them, "Was it my imagination?" he wondered, standing still to scan the place around as people went pass him. When he felt like he was just wasting time, he walked to a random direction to head to anywhere else he could fool around in before he had to meet up with the others. The familiar sensation began to go away the farther he walked, making him feel a little bit more easy.
Taking out the disc along with his CD players and headsets from his bag, he inserted the disc into the player and shut off all contact with the outside world as music flooded into his ears.
He headed into the more emptier parts of the Mall to check out any shops he had missed while he as window shopping around. There were some interesting places here and there, but the sight of tattoed teenagers loitering around the place in groups gave him another problem. He could handle them all, but it would be a waste of time. He could feel at least a few of them glaring in his direction, as if he was tresspassing on their turf, "Jeez, feels like the Gym club back at school all over again," he sarcastically thought to himself, putting away his headsets just in case one tried to sneak up on him.
Up ahead, Hideki suddenly could hear some laughing and loud talking. Among those voices, he perceived the meek voice of a girl. He got curious, went a bit closer, and his eyes widened at the sight of Kaname Madoka surrounded by boys with repulsive looks on their faces as they wore uniforms of another school that were decorated or torn up in a few places. The looked like a gang of thugs as they circled around Madoka to block any escape route. Surrounded, the girl was shaking and stuttering nonstop while she pleaded for them to go away, only for them to laugh back at her.
The Soul Gem underneath his uniform glimmered aggressively as Hideki furrowed his brow. They were obviously up to no good, and people like this were a common sight to Hideki back in the day. He could remember being in the same position Madoka was in now, alone and without help. But he wasn't going to be like those people that ignored his pleas years ago, and he definitely was going to uphold that promise to protect Madoka they had made with Homura. The sheer sight of bullying and harassment made him sick to the stomach.
Curling one hand into a fist, he walked up to what looked like the leader of the group and tapped him on the shoulder. The senior student had a small lip piercing and spoke in a nasal, condescending tone more smug and irritating than what he always heard from Mamoru, "The Hell you want, kid? Beat it. This is our turf," he jerked a thumb in the opposite direction and puffed his chest, the boys surrounding Madoka turning to Hideki with their expressions becoming more intimidating, "If you like breathing, then get out of my sight in 10 seconds before we get annoyed."
Hideki stifled a laugh, sarcastically remarking, "Funny. I was going to say the same thing. Except... How about you leave her alone, before I start to get annoyed?" his look turned stern, but the senior student wasn't impressed with being threatened by someone younger than him, "I'm really not in the mood to be taking shit from anyone right now, so how about we all go home happy and without broken bones?"
Madoka saw Hideki through the crowd and quickly recognized him. She shouted at him to not get involved, "H-Hakamichi, please don't get yourself in tro-!"
"Shut it, kid. I'm the one doing the talking," the senior spat as two of his boys held her back, his words making Hideki's eye twitch with annoyance. He then cracked a chuckle with his friends and pointed a finger at Hideki, "Hey, get a load of this guy, boys. Thinks he's all tough and shit. Gondo, come teach this guy a lesson, will ya? I haven't seen you break anyone in a while now," he snapped his fingers and the biggest member of the group, being twice of Hideki's size, stepped between him and the senior student, growling menacingly as Hideki folded his arms and clicked his tongue.
Rolling up his sleeves as there was a faint glimmer of Recicio in his hand, Hideki smirked at being threatened by some thug, "Well look who here's the big guy. But, I fought bigger," in a sudden flash, Hideki's right hook came like a rogue freight train as it struck into the big guy's diaphragm. He felt the tenderness of the man's organs under his fist just collapse and caused the man twice his size to double over, his legs buckling underneath him. The big guy crumpled over on the ground, gasping and crying while his friends looked on in horror. Hideki let out a small exhale and wrung his hand, "Didn't really end very nicely for those things, either."
One of them reached for a pocket knife in his jacket, but Hideki predicted the usual threat easily, "Try and shank me with a knife, and I promise I will make sure you can't hold anything else in that hand of yours," Hideki declared, making the member slowly take his hand out of his pocket and keep it at his side where it would be safe. Hideki looked back at the nasal-sounding leader, who shrinked under his gaze, and uttered, "Get out of my sight in 10 seconds, before I change my mind."
They all then scurried away in fear, carrying away their biggest member as they ran for their lives with their tails between their legs. Getting back at bullies felt good, but he knew he shouldn't be abusing his powers like this any further. That punch was't even amplified by his powers anyway. Hideki glared at them as they ran off, looking back to Madoka only until they were all out of sight, "You all right?" he asked with his hands in his pockets.
"Y-Yes. Thank you, Hakamichi," she smiled gratefully at him and bowed, "I-I don't know how I should I thank you for this..."
"It's no problem," he shrugged, raising his shoulders, "Can't really just leave a girl to a few guys like that, can't I?"
"Madoka!" they heard someone shouting at them.
They both turned around, and while Madoka shouted with relief, Hideki suddenly froze on the spot. As Miki Sayaka ran up to Madoka and hugged her best friend tightly, Hideki silently peered at the sight of the girl he had a crush on for so many years. Sayaka ruffled Madoka's hair and rubbed her cheek on hers, saying, "Jesus Christ, don't scare me like that! I thought I lost you for a second there!"
"Sorry!" Madoka cried, burying her face in Sayaka's chest.
"Whew, thank God you're safe," Sayaka glanced up and caught the boy looking at her. They stared directly right at each other, and it took Sayaka a second to realize was responsible for saving her best friend. As she assuringly patted Madoka on the head, Hideki, for the first time in his life, stood in front of Miki Sayaka in complete view and out of the shadows he usually hid in whenever he was around her presence. Hideki was like a deer in the headlights.
During all those years of looking at this girl from the shadows in awe of her sincerity and energy, Hideki couldn't bring himself to talk to her not even once. He knew the whole thing with the professional violinist, Kyousuke Kamijou. A boy who had been hospitalized and cared by Sayaka while he dealt with a hand injury that affected his ability to play, Sayaka had a childhood crush on Kyousuke ever since the two were kids for his seemingly flawless musical talents and politeness Hideki could never dream of having. All that made even approaching this girl seem impossible, and yet, there they were right now, sharing a look for the first time.
Just a day before he had met Homura, he had decided that he would not stop and try to approach her. He finally decided for himself that he - a delinquent of a troublesome club who liked to pick fights - wasn't worthy of her affection and attention. But now he stood in front of her, a Puerum Magi, a member of the school team that would participate in the upcoming local tournament, and a person that had just got over the lost of a friend who had exchanged her life to save his and his friends'. Was this just God playing with him, he wondered.
Hideki's fists balled in his pockets as he gained control of his body again and slowly tried to step back. His cocky smirk had faded into a jaded frown the moment she came as he turned away to try and hide his face from view. Did she know all those rumors about him always looking at her? Or was she just staring at him for being a part of the infamous Freelancer cub? He didn't want to find out, and immediately tried to run off, "I gotta go now. See you later, Kaname. Miki," he stepped away, but Sayaka's voice made him freeze again momentarily.
"Thanks, for helping her out," She sounded sincere and honest, which made him feel something warm in his chest, "I appreciate it."
He felt his Soul Gem shimmer again, as it reacted constantly to his emotional state. Hesitantly, he turned around and saw the look of acknowledgement on Sayaka and Madoka. He turned back and rubbed his bare arms as they felt cold, "You're welcome," he replied, before walking off to anywhere but here. When he felt like he was far enough, he quickened his speed into a jog and ran behind a small pillar-like structure to breath.
Hideki clasped his hands, rubbing them together and breathing into them, "Pathetic," he thought to himself. He managed to stand up to a hundred men bigger than him, things that tried to kill him, but he ran at the sight of a girl who just thanked him, "Pathetic," he repeated to himself, "Homura told me to be strong... I can't let his get a hold of me," sighing, he slumped on the pillar and sat on the floor, desperately looking around him for a place to distract him. He needed just a few more minutes to kill, so anything could do at a time like this.
A sparkling signboard caught his gaze, and as he tried to identify the place, he recognized it. A sparkling arcade, decorated with flashy lights as kids and teens inside played the loud and flashing games inside. But it wasn't just any arcade. It was the one Homura and Hideki had went to before, and the sight of it made Hideki gulp as he got up and walked towards it in an unflinching stride, "I can't let myself be distracted... I need to clear my mind."
Keeping it simple, Hideki paid for a few tokens and stopped in front of an on-rails shooter arcade game. The same game he and Homura played together when they visited this arcade. He still remembered Homura getting the highest score on her first try, and on the displayed scoreboard, she was certainly still the highest on it. Hideki was just below her by a few numbers, as he had tried his best to also get that place in the top. Taking up the plastic controller, he popped in the tokens and selected the first level. Determined, he decided the best way to calm himself down was to try and beat his hold highscore, or even Homura's.
"Start!" the game's AI voice announced as Hideki began dispatching the on-screen enemies with ease. His heightened physical prowess and reflexes made almost all his shots point-on accurate as he still remembered how the game generally worked. He guessed this was how Homura managed to get her highscore on her first try.
He continued firing left and right, racking up his score as for nearly half an hour of playing, not a single "Game over" appearing on his screen. He went on and on with the next levels, blasting his way through this game as he could still feel like Homura was just beside him, increasing her own score with little difficulty. He continued to play until he reached the very last level. On the bottom right, he could see that his score was nearing to what Homura had achieved. He was climbing up the ladder, and it actually felt a bit good. Meanwhile, some of the other arcade players were watching him play, just like they did for Homura when she was steam-rolling through the game herself while he just tagged-along.
Click, click, click... Click... Click
Just a few more points until he could beat Homura's, he thought to himself. Taking down the last enemies with all his focus put into it, he didn't know why he was so determined in playing a video game, but he did it at least to clear his mind. All it took now to beat Homura's highscore was 2-4 kills.
The last enemies came and he nearly missed the first two. Taking out the second last enemy with a quick headshot, he panned his gun to the last enemy, and then held his finger back from squeezing the trigger.
The game over screen reached, and Hideki's score was just right below Homura's. His gun was still aimed at the screen, finger completely still as Hideki lowered the controller down and wordlessly inserted it back into its holster.
Pocketing his hands, he turned to the exit and ignored all the people that were giving him looks. He got out of the arcade, closed his eyes and ran a hand through his messy, dark-blue hair. He walked up to the railing in front of him, leaned on it and looked back at the arcade. He felt better, even though he had held back the very moment he was close to beating Homura's highscore. But then again, he felt like it would be a disservice to her if he did. Taking out his CD player and putting his headsets back on, he craned his head up to the ceiling and thought, "You know, Homura, you can keep that spot. Wouldn't want to take something that nice away from you.
He ruffled through his pockets and took out the tickets Homura had won from getting the highest score. They unfolded in his hand, and a small smile crept to his face.
From this view, he got a good look of Sayaka and Madoka as they left the shopping place through the main entrance, happily laughing with each other as they enjoyed themselves. Putting the tickets back in his pocket, he wondered what to properly say the next time he saw her, "Now then, the others are probably waiting for me. Shouldn't keep 'em waiting," getting off the railing, he gave one last look at Sayaka before heading off.