The student council room was quiet. There hadn't been much school business lately, and after the failure of their last monster, Zundar had considerately given the Caerula Adamas a few days to get over their disappointment. Kinshiro appreciated that. It was bad enough that the school groundskeepers were still trying to figure out how to get all the melted wax out of the foliage. That was one thing that bothered Kinshiro - the fact that the monsters always seemed to damage his beloved school while they were fighting.

But at least there was a possible remedy for that. Kinshiro had set his allies to work searching the ether for targets outside their school. If they could find a useful would-be monster somewhere outside school grounds, they could transform it and set it loose on the city without endangering the school. Perhaps it would even get them a little more recognition, if the battles happened out where everyone in the city could see them. If they were going to rule the world, it would help if someone outside the school had heard of them.

His gaze strayed over to where Akoya was sitting. He seemed to have succumbed to peer pressure or curiosity and had finally installed the app, and was now sitting and typing with every sign of absorption. Judging by the smile playing across his lips and the sparkle in his eyes, whatever he was doing, it wasn't scouting for potential monsters.

"I take it you've met someone interesting?" Kinshiro asked, raising one eyebrow.

Akoya didn't look the slightest bit ashamed. "I've found an admirer."

"You know not everyone you meet is automatically your admirer," Arima pointed out, not looking up from his screen. "And you shouldn't tell anyone you meet online your real name. It's not prudent."

Akoya rolled his eyes. "I know that, and I haven't. We were just talking about finance, and my family's name happened to come up."

He brandished his phone as proof, and Kinshiro leaned forward for a better look. Akoya was not, so far as he knew, particularly passionate about finances, but he had grown up in a family of financiers and had learned about investments at approximately the same time he'd learned to count. It was the sort of thing he always trotted out in situations like this one, where he couldn't use his looks to impress people, or when he simply wanted to remind people that he was more than just a pretty face. In this case, it seemed to have worked. The discussion had started with business in general, then Gero Finance in particular, and then, predictably enough, to Akoya himself and his manifold virtues. Akoya hadn't been exaggerating - he had apparently found an admirer who was willing to praise his intelligence, style, sophistication, and general all-around wonderfulness. Splendid for him, but not very useful for the rest of the team.

"Chat on your own time," he said. "We're doing serious business here."

"You're no fun," said Akoya, pouting. Kinshiro tried to stifle a sigh. Attempting to pry Akoya away from a source of flattery was harder than prying a child out of a toy store. Whatever Kinshiro said, at this point Akoya was going to go right on doing what he was doing.

So Kinshiro turned his attention on the usually tractable Arima. He too seemed to be having a good time. Not that it was easy to tell, since Arima almost invariably wore the same expression of good-humored abstractedness, as though he were always thinking of something lovely that had nothing to do with the current situation. He did, however, seem to be more engaged than usual in his own chat session.

"Tell me you, at least, have something useful to report," Kinshiro said, without much hope.

"Hm?" said Arima. "Ah, no. I'm talking to the head of the Binan Garden Club."

Akoya glanced up. "It's an anonymous chat program. How do you know you're talking to the head of the garden club?"

"Because she's a friend of my mother," said Arima, "and I know her speech patterns. Don't worry, I don't think she's recognized me. We're swapping tips on spring bulbs."

"That is not productive!" Kinshiro snapped, exasperated. "We're supposed to be doing something serious here!"

Arima looked innocently up at him. "But you aren't being serious either."

"What do you..." Kinshiro began, and then stopped.

His gaze had strayed guiltily back to his tablet. He had turned it on with good intentions, and had even opened a few chat logs with a couple of random people, but then he'd noticed that the single stored contact in his list had come online. For the last several days, he'd been checking his screen for the name Windblown Leaves, feeling a pang of disappointment every time it wasn't there, and when he'd finally seen it, he'd forgotten everything else he was supposed to be concentrating on in favor of continuing the debate he'd been having the previous night or the discussion they'd been forced to cut short that morning. He'd been telling himself he could chat and search for potential monsters at the same time, but...

"Well, if we're not going to do anything useful today," he snapped, "we might as well break it up and go home."

"Yes, let's," said Akoya. He had already turned his attention back to his screen. Whatever he saw there caused him to emit a little gasp of delight. Arima leaned in to get a look at whatever it was.

"We've lost him," he declared, straightening up. "We might as well start picking out wedding presents now."

"What are you talking about?" Kinshiro demanded. He jerked the phone out of Akoya's hand, prompting a cry of dismay. Kinshiro ignored the protests to read the last few lines of text. Akoya, apparently sounding out his new friend, had remarked that the Gero family was inflicted with a rather unfortunate name. The mysterious stranger on the other end had responded that it was a noble name that they would be proud to own themselves. No wonder Akoya was thrilled. Kinshiro shoved the phone back at him.

"That's it," he said. "I'm leaving. We're obviously getting nothing accomplished today."

"You're just jealous because someone likes me," said Akoya, turning his attention back to his admirer. "I always knew you had a jealous streak, President, but I didn't think you'd take it out on me."

Kinshiro decided not to dignify that with a response. He simply stood up and walked out of the room. Somewhat to his surprise, Arima got up and followed him. Well, it was gratifying to know that Kinshiro outranked the fascination of spring bulbs.

They had barely left the school grounds before they ran into the Earth Defense Club. Almost literally ran into them - half of them were playing with that stupid chat program and not looking where they were going.

"Oh, sorry!" said Atsushi, looking contrite as he fumbled to shove his phone in his pocket. "I didn't mean to block your path."

"Well, you did," said Kinshiro, and swept past him.

Arima trailed along behind him, pausing long enough to flash the club his vague smile.

"Have a nice afternoon," he said, before picking up his pace to catch up to Kinshiro.

"I don't know why you bother," said Kinshiro.

"A whim, I suppose," said Arima. "Sometimes it pays off."

"I don't see how,"

"It's how you met that person," said Arima. "The one who calls himself Windblown Leaves."

Kinshiro felt his cheeks warm slightly. "I never told you that."

"I notice everything you do," Arima replied. "Especially if it makes you happy. And you are happy when you talk with him. I can see it."

Kinshiro scowled a little. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Arima was vague, but he wasn't stupid.

"What are you getting at?" he asked.

"Nothing specific," said Arima. "Have you told him your real name yet? Do you know who he is?"

"No and no," said Kinshiro. "Weren't you the one who just told Akoya giving out your real name is imprudent?"

"I did," said Arima. "But what's the point of being who we are if we don't take what we want once in a while?"

Kinshiro thought about that.

"You have a point," he said at last.

"I'm always happy to help," said Arima.

They had reached the intersection where they usually parted company. Now Arima paused and made a small bow.

"I'll leave you here," he said. "Have a pleasant evening. I trust you'll make the right choice."

Then he strolled off, looking satisfied that he'd delivered his message. Kinshiro watched him go for a moment, wondering what to make of his friend's behavior. Arima wasn't much in the habit of telling Kinshiro what to do. That probably meant that he felt this was important. It wasn't as though Arima had ever steered him wrong before.

Feeling ambivalent, Kinshiro turned not towards his house, but to a little coffee house he frequented. He picked out an outdoor table tucked into the corner, where he could sit quietly and collect his thoughts over a cup of tea. He selected something off the menu almost at random, and once it had been delivered, sipped his drink without tasting it and pondered the possibilities.

Did he want to meet this person? His first instinct was to give a resounding "Yes!" It had been a very long time since he'd felt so connected to another person, so genuinely happy to be in their company. And therein lay the problem. The last time he had cared so much about someone, they had betrayed him in a way that still left him aching. He didn't think he could put himself through that again. He wasn't even sure how he'd handle something milder. What if he met this person, whoever they were, and found out they resented him for his wealth or his position on the student council and decided they wanted nothing to do with him?

But Arima was right. He was the leader of the Caerula Adamas, soon to be the ruler of the world. It should be unthinkable for him to want something and lack the means to have it. If he was rejected, he would simply find some way around it.

And if I can do this, then maybe...

He pushed that thought out of his head. What was over was over. What mattered now was that he take this opportunity that life had handed to him.

Steeling his nerve, he reached for the phone and turned it on.


Atsushi looked at the screen in front of him and pondered. He had, in fact, been thinking most of the day on the same subject, without doing much but going in circles. For the last few days, he'd been spending his free minutes swapping virtual messages with someone he'd never, so far as he knew, seen face to face. They should have felt like a stranger to him - just another faceless, voiceless person on the internet. And yet, he felt as though the two of them had known each other forever. It was almost a shock to arrive in class each day and not recognize his new friend sitting in a desk nearby.

That was part of what was making him feel so unsettled. The other part was that he'd formed a distinct impression that his new friend was lonely. It wasn't anything specific that he'd said - certainly GoldenArrow had never complained about it. It was just that while Atsushi had occasionally mentioned that one of his friends had said or done something amusing, GoldenArrow had never said anything of the sort. Maybe he was just better at playing his cards close to the vest than Atsushi was, but it didn't seem likely. Atsushi had a sense that there just weren't a lot of other people his new friend felt comfortable around, and that was a sad thing. Everything Atsushi had learned told him that whoever GoldenArrow was, he was intelligent, cultured, observant, and generally good company. Atsushi couldn't help but want to reach out to him.

They were wrapping up a discussion of a movie that had recently become popular when Atsushi finally made up his mind.

"It's strange," he wrote. "I know we haven't known each other long, but I feel like you're really close to me already."

There was a pause long enough to make Atsushi wonder if he'd overstepped his boundaries. Then GoldenArrow wrote, "I feel the same way."

Atsushi breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you ever think about meeting in person?"

"Sometimes," came the reply. Then, after a beat, he added, "Are you suggesting we try it?"

"If you're up for it. Maybe after school tomorrow?"

Another long pause. Then, "All right. Tomorrow after school. There's a coffee shop nearby, Café Coffee. Do you know it?"

Atsushi replied that he did, and the two of them agreed to meet there after school at one of the outdoor tables.

"How will we recognize each other?" Atsushi asked.

"What do you look like?" GoldenArrow replied.

Atsushi ran a hand through his hair. What did he look like? Nothing much. Dark hair, dark eyes, just like a million other Japanese boys. He wore glasses, but so did a lot of other people - he could hardly expect his friend to go up to every person with glasses who wandered by and asked if they might happen to be Windblown Leaves on the internet. And of course, a few blocks away from Binan High, the street would be full of boys in school uniforms the minute school let out.

"I'll tell you what," he said, as inspiration struck. "I'll tie a handkerchief around my wrist. You do the same. That way we'll be sure to recognize each other."

"That should do," GoldenArrow agreed. "Good thinking. I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow," Atsushi promised.

They chatted a bit longer before GoldenArrow said he'd been called to dinner and logged off. Atsushi sat back at his desk, staring at the now inactive window.

"Well," he said to himself, "I guess there's no getting out of it now."


"I wonder if I can still get out of this."

Kinshiro fidgeted with the teacup in front of him, watching the reflections dance on its surface. He was having some serious doubts about this entire situation. What had he been thinking, anyway? He wasn't a "people person". He had been doing just fine on his own. What did he need to meet some random stranger for? He was just going to be disappointed again. He should turn around and go home. He could pretend that one of them had gotten the time or location wrong. He could just forget the whole thing, and no one would ever be able to track him down again if he didn't want to be found. He set his cup down, pushed his chair back, and stood up.

He sat down again just as quickly, and pressed his face into his hands. He hated himself for being so irresolute, for being afraid, and most of all, for letting himself feel something for someone else. He could avoid this meeting all he liked, but he couldn't change the fact that it was inevitably going to happen. He wanted it too much to give up on it, no matter what his instincts were telling him.

Get yourself under control, he told himself sternly. You remember self-control, don't you? You're always willing enough to lecture other people about it. Lead by example, Mr. President, or you should just give up your ambitions right now.

He folded his hands in front of him, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths until he felt a bit more steady. Once he was sure he wasn't going to panic again, he opened his eyes and forced himself to reach, slowly and steadily, for his teacup, and to raise it just as deliberately to his lips. The familiar ritual soothed him. He could do this. He was the President of the Binan High Student Council, the leader of the Caerula Adamas, and an all-around superior human being. He could manage a simple social interaction.

Then his eyes fell on the figure walking up the sidewalk. A young man, about his age, in a Binan High school uniform. There was a green handkerchief tied neatly around one wrist. Kinshiro felt his heart begin to race. He's here...

Then a cloud passed over the sun, just enough to reduce the glare in Kinshiro's eyes, and he got his first clear look at the new arrival's face. It was a friendly face, framed by a simple pair of glasses and slightly untidy dark hair. It would have been an ordinary enough face by anyone's standards but Kinshiro's.

Oh, no...

Kinshiro's first irrational thought was that Atsushi was here just now to spoil his meeting and ruin his day, and this was not fair, because Kinshiro was here to meet his new friend, and he couldn't do that with the ghost of an old relationship hanging over him. The reality of the situation wouldn't fit in his head - it was too impossible. Vaguely, Kinshiro was aware that he was breathing hard, that his heart was going too fast, and he was shaking slightly, but his mind still hadn't quite finished working out what the rest of him was so excited about.

Then Atsushi looked up and waved, and Kinshiro felt the world snap into focus. Atsushi. All this time, he'd been talking to Atsushi. Fury coursed through him. How dare he? How dare he insinuate himself back into Kinshiro's life after Kinshiro had worked so hard to cut all ties with him? How dare he pretend to be Kinshiro's friend while still spent all his attention on that Yufuin character? How dare he try to make Kinshiro care about him? The desire to transform into Chevalier Aurite and destroy everything around him until there was nothing left of this café but a smoking rubble was overwhelming.

And then Atsushi smiled. Just that, but it lit up his whole face fit to rival the sun.

"Kin-chan!" he exclaimed, voice ringing with joy, and broke into a run.

Kinshiro couldn't say anything. He just sat as if frozen and watched Atsushi dodge around waitresses and tables and customers, stumbling and apologizing as he went. His cheeks were flushed with excitement, as if seeing Kinshiro there were the most wonderful thing ever.

Why? Why is he so happy to see me? Anger was giving way to confusion. He couldn't doubt the evidence of his eyes: Atsushi was genuinely glad to see him, absolutely thrilled to find him here. Kinshiro wanted to demand explanations, apologies, or at least some acknowledgment that they were not friends and this was all wrong, but the words stuck in his throat.

Then Atsushi reached his side at last, and his expression made it clear what he needed to say. He found himself smiling in spite of himself.

"Hello, Atchan," he said softly.

"Hello, Kin-chan," said Atsushi. "You know, I'd hoped it would be you."

Kinshiro's eyes widened. "You guessed it was me... and you came anyway?"

"Of course," said Atsushi. "I've missed you, you know."

Then why didn't you come back sooner? Why did you leave at all? Why do you spend all your time with those people when you could have been with me? Kinshiro swallowed hard.

"I've missed you, too," he said.

"You did?" Atsushi's expression was... hopeful. Had he not realized that Kinshiro had been waiting for him all this time?

Of course he hadn't. Kinshiro had spent the last several years going out of his way to snub Atsushi every chance he got. If Kinshiro was going to be honest, he had to admit that the mess was as much his fault as it was Atsushi's.

Maybe it's time to start over. Arima is right - I can't just let an opportunity to get what I want slip away.

"I did," he said. "I... I'm sorry. Even when I was pushing you away, I wanted you to come after me. I wish you had. Why didn't you try to win me back?"

Atsushi's face fell. "I don't know... No, I do know. I thought you were angry at me for something..."

"I was."

"And I thought if I pushed you about it, it would just make you more angry. I thought if I just left you alone, you'd calm down and tell me what was wrong, but you never did. What were you so angry about?"

Kinshiro looked down. "Nothing. Something stupid."

He felt a warm hand touch his shoulder. "If it hurt you that much, it wasn't nothing and it wasn't stupid," said Atsushi. "It must have been important to you."

Kinshiro felt his cheeks warm, and he wasn't sure it was the touch or Atsushi's words that caused it.

"I was jealous because you invited Yufuin to go for curry with you instead of me," he muttered.

"But you don't like curry. You've always hated curry," Atsushi pointed out. His tone was gentle - not contradicting him, just probing for an explanation.

"I know," said Kinshiro. "But I would have come anyway, to keep you company. I wanted to be asked."

"Well, I know it's late," said Atsusi, "but I did ask to meet you today, didn't I?"

"You didn't know it was me," Kinshiro pointed out, but he could feel himself smiling.

Atsushi laughed. "That's true. So, is it okay for us to hang out together again?"

Kinshiro briefly weighed this request against his work with the Student Council, his involvement in the Caerula Adamas, and the knowledge that anywhere Atsushi went, all his ragtag friends would go too. Yesterday he would have called all of those things important matters, things that demanded his utmost consideration. Now they seemed so trivial as to be ridiculous.

"I'd like that," he said.

Atsushi beamed and slid into the chair across from Kinshiro. "Great. So, tell me, did you finish that book you were telling me about last night?"

"Almost," said Kinshiro. "I just reached the part where..."

And just like that, they were friends again. For at least that afternoon, it was as if they had never been apart at all. Afterwards, Kinshiro couldn't remember what they talked about, only that they went through two pots of tea and a plate of cookies without seeming to notice what they were doing. Kinshiro couldn't remember the last time he'd said so many words at once. In fact, they lingered so long that a waitress began giving them despairing looks every time she passed their table.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome," Atsushi observed, noticing where Kinshiro's eyes had been straying. He glanced at his watch and winced. "No wonder - we've been here for hours."

"I'll leave her a tip that will make up for it," Kinshiro promised. In the mood he was in, he was ready to leave her a tip that would pay her rent for the month. "So... I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

Atsushi smiled hopefully. "Do you want to walk around town a little? I don't have to be anywhere else today."

Kinshiro felt himself warm all over. Atsushi didn't want to leave him yet.

"Let's do that," he agreed.

So the two of them strolled up and down the city's side streets, sometimes peering in windows, sometimes chatting. Mostly, thought, they just walked, enjoying the comfort of each other's presence. To Kinshiro, it was as if he were floating through a warm golden haze, like a leaf drifting on a sunlit river. He felt light, almost giddy, ready to laugh at the smallest things. He wished that he could make the afternoon stretch on forever.

"Ah, look!" said Atsushi, pointing at something in a shop window.

Kinshiro roused from his peaceful daze. "What is it?"

"Just wait a moment," said Atsushi. "I'll be right back!"

"What...?" Kinshiro began, but Atsushi was already ducking into the shop.

Kinshiro stood wondering on the sidewalk, more confused than annoyed, as he watched Atsushi grab something off a rack and carry it up to the counter. Whatever it was, it was too small for him to get a good look at it. The shopkeeper dropped Atsushi's items into a paper bag and held it out to him, and a few seconds later, Atsushi came bounding out again, proudly bearing his purchase.

"I could have paid for that," said Kinshiro.

Atsushi laughed. "You paid for our tea already. Besides, I wanted to give you something. A present."

He opened the bag and took out a little enameled metal charm on a strap. It was in the shape of a cheerfully smiling frog. Kinshiro took it into his hands as if it were a priceless relic.

"Kaeru," he said thoughtfully. It meant "frog", but it could also mean "to return".

"A souvenir," said Atsushi. "See, I got one for myself, too."

"You got us matching keychains. That's so juvenile," said Kinshio, but he was smiling. "Thank you."

Kinshiro clipped the little frog to his bag. It glittered green and gold in the sunlight. Atsushi did the same.

"There. Now we match," he said. "And if we get separated again, we'll have something to remind us to find a way to come back."

"I'll treasure it," said Kinshiro solemnly.

Atsushi looked at the time again and sighed a little. "And I really should be getting home soon, or I'll be late for dinner. But I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?"

"Absolutely," said Kinshiro.

"Good. I really have missed you, Kin-chan. I'm glad we worked things out."

Atsushi made his goodbyes and turned and started down the sidewalk. He'd only made it a few steps, however, before he paused and looked back.

"You know," he said, "my friends and I usually hang out at the Kurotama bath house after school," he said. "I'm sure if you wanted to join us sometime, we'd be glad to have you."

"I'll keep it in mind," said Kinshiro.

Privately, he didn't think he was ever going to want to spend any more time around the Earth Defense Club than was necessary to stay on good terms with Atsushi. He certainly didn't think he wanted to get into a bath with them all.

But it was nice to be asked.

To Be Continued...