"That's the first thing you ask when seeing me? I still live in this city, you know?"
"No, no," said Kageura and Nire as they crossed their arms into an "X."
Kanda could only smile and accept that this was just how they were.
Asking for more than this from these kinds of people would have been too much trouble. Instead, he left them to Murakami while he and Mizukami went to get a table.
The building they walked into was interesting in the way it was new and refurbished but held a familiar and antique feel to it. All around the dining area were things inspired by both Western and Eastern ideas. To go along with that strange appearance, there was a sitting section near a glass window that allowed patrons to watch as the food was being made. Instead of tables lining that area, a single line of chairs sat under a bar, letting everyone watch without tilting their heads.
On either side of the room were speakers hanging from the ceiling. Near them were small screens that displayed numbers and specials that could only be found in different parts of the world. Each one of the items on the screen looked appetizing in its own right, but there was clearly more to it than that. The difference in choices meant that people who wanted to try something new could do so without having to worry if they wanted to go back to something more Eastern.
"This place's really amazing, ain't it?"
"I had expected it to be pretty classy, but I didn't expect it to be like this. The style of the interior doesn't mesh in a bad way, so people don't have to worry about their eyes hurting when leaving."
"The prices here are pretty good too. The Eastern dishes are less than most places, while the Western ones are only a bit above that. The people here knew what to do to not lose money while also making sure their customers could get what they want."
Mizukami took another look around the area and nodded twice.
"All that's left is to taste it and see if it's worth it all."
"Our food is made efficiently, with the best ingredients, and in a timely manner. There is nothing to worry about. Now, can I offer our curry for the day? I will personally make it for you."
The sudden appearance of someone behind them made Kanda and Mizukami jump before freezing in place.
They began to slowly turn around to see a familiar person dressed in a waiter's outfit.
"Sh-Shitokei-senpai..."
"Yes, hello there, Mizukami, Kanda. I noticed you two and Kō standing outside for a while now, but I figured you were waiting for others. I have a table ready for a large party."
Mei held out her hand to show that there had indeed been a table reserved for them. There were no other people around, but it did not seclude them completely from others.
This must have been another way of showing off to them. Places that would make space like that would end up making other patrons feel like others were getting special treatment, but this system meant that there was a section for smaller parties and a section for larger parties.
"Oh, that makes sense now," said Mizukami. "No wonder everything looks like it somehow works out. Shitokei-senpai managed everything."
"I only helped my parents figure out what to do."
Mei turned her head and let out a rare sigh.
Mizukami and Kanda knew it was better to pretend they had never heard the sigh. They took it further and pretended they didn't hear her muttering to herself.
"They certainly brought a lot back from their trip... Hah. But I suppose it is a good thing we have something to do with all of that stuff."
.
Shōhi Boy: "Hey, is Shitokei-senpai's family loaded or something?"
Manager: "What are you asking now? Of course they aren't."
Artist: "Wait, she isn't rich? I thought she was after we went to her house for the night."
Demon Child: "I actually thought the same thing."
Kuni: "Okay, who here thought she was loaded? Raise your hand! Raise it high for everyone to see!"
Mi-Kon: "Who would be stupid enough to actually do that?"
Life: "Here, here! I'm raising it high!"
Almost Everyone: "That's who."
.
"You guys are really doing this while in here?"
The two looked back as the rest of them walked inside. Murakami gave an uncertain smile, so he might also not know if their former senpai was actually rich or not.
"Hello, Mei," said Murakami with the same uncertain smile. "We're finally here."
Mizukami raised a brow before the realization dawned on him.
They had been played.
"So this is why you suggested this place."
"Yeah. Mei had said we should stop by some time, so I thought this would be a good time for it."
"I figured that Mikado City's Black Wolf and Neighbor Surfer coming here would end up dragging along lots of others. Yes, please remember to spread the word about us."
"And if we don't feel like it?"
Without a word, she raised a fist that Mizukami could not argue against.
I see she's still the same as ever.
No, that wasn't right. She was just more free in her actions now.
"So where are we going to be sitting, Mei?"
"Right this way. I made sure that you all would be put in the corner so that the other customers would not be bothered. ...I mean, so you could have your privacy."
"You're supposed to correct yourself before finishing your sentence," they all said in unison.
Shitokei waved them off and saw them to their seats.
Walking closer to their seats, Mizukami noticed something peculiar about the room.
"There're a lot of vents 'round the place."
"Yes, that is to make sure the different scents don't mix together. With each dish being different, the smell from it all could end up giving someone a headache."
"Are you the one to come up with that, Mei? I figure that you would be more focused on the specifics of the place than anyone else."
"While I would like to take credit for it, the one who brought it up in the first place had been Jinsei." Shitokei nodded once and started putting menus down. "He was helpful with the smaller things; once they had been brought up during the night everyone stayed over."
So they had been thinking about this since then.
Nah, they probably thought about it before that, but now the parents have a reason to go through with it all.
After having met the Shitokei parents, he could say that they were certainly frivolous but not uncaring. Everything they did concerning their family was a decision made with their family in mind. There was nothing done that either Shitokei or Minoru would not approve of.
Maybe that was why they were so accepting of their daughter's boyfriend.
"Oh, we can leave this space open. Mitsuteru can sit there."
The coat hanger nearby had already filled up, so Mizukami had been trying to find a place for his own jacket when he heard Kanda speak up.
At first he thought nothing of it, but then someone else had spoken up.
"No, it's fine. I planned on having him sit next to me."
"It's fine; I'm sure he'll have more room over here."
"Really, I insist. I've been meaning to get closer to him again."
"Oh, I was thinking the same thing. Especially since I'm not in Border anymore."
Slowly turning around for a second time, Mizukami saw what was going on in full.
On one side of the table was Kanda, with his hand on the chair next to his seat.
Across from him was Murakami, already making sure there would be enough space for someone else.
This can't end well at all...
.
Kageura could feel the pokes coming at him from his side. They were not his Side Effect; instead, Hikari was actually jabbing him with her finger.
"Hey, what about you? Doesn't Kage want to fight to have Mittsuncchi sit next to him?"
"Why should I care about that? He's going to be sitting at the same table as the rest of us, no matter what."
"But where's the fun in that?"
"Shouldn't you be bugging Yuzuru about this?"
"Please don't send her my way, Kage-san."
It was a bit harsh to send Hikari to Ema, but he knew he could handle her for a bit.
There was something else he needed to deal with right now.
"Will the two of you stop being idiots? Just sit somewhere so we can order."
"Oh, no need for that. I'm enjoying the show," said Shitokei with a wave.
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" he responded.
She gave him another wave and turned back to the passive-aggressive duo.
Everyone else had already taken a seat, so he wanted to figure out where he would also be sitting.
When he looked at where everyone was sitting, he made up his mind. With Kitazoe and Mizukami at the far sides of the table and Hikari and Ema next to Kitazoe, there was little that could be done by this point. Either he sat down next to Murakami or he sat down next to Kanda.
Feeling like this would be too much trouble, he motioned for Mizukami to look at him.
When he did, Kageura pointed to the remaining open spot and gave a look to his teammates to move down a spot.
Everyone did as they were instructed and moved.
There, now they can't complain.
The new seating arrangement meant that Murakami's seat had been taken by Hikari, and Ema was sitting where Murakami had wanted Ariake to sit.
"Well, it looks like you missed your chance, Murakami. Come sit over here. Then Mitsuteru can sit over here."
"That's on your other side! No, you can sit at the edge there."
They had somehow missed the chance Kageura had given them.
Do they want to monopolize the guy!?
Feeling a small headache starting to form, he made a final decision.
One he knew he would regret later on.
He turned to Shitokei.
"Hey, give these two idiots your personally made curry. If they're going to argue like this, we'll at least get some payback."
"Oh, so that's what your plan is."
She nodded and placed the last menu down before asking for what drinks everyone wanted.
Once that was done, Kageura forced Murakami and Kanda to sit down before taking his own seat.
"The one who can eat more curry can have Ariake sit next to him. Got it?"
The two of them looked at him before nodding to each other.
Idiots.
A sigh was let out into the white room. A clock continued to tick at an agonizingly slow pace.
The smells in the room had all come together by this point, making it start to itch at the nose. It was all boring, with nothing to do. Even the heart monitor next to the bed was becoming a nuisance that would soon be thrown out the window, if only to make something happen.
I hate hospitals so much.
Yuki let out a second sigh while looking at the white ceiling.
The entire time he had been in bed had been torture. With nothing to do, he had started to think of all the things he couldn't do.
I really hate hospitals. They're boring, they have this same smell, and they all look the same. I want to go out and do something. I want to move my body. I want to just be able to exist outside of this room without someone worrying about me.
There had been too many times when he had to be dragged back into this room.
Rei had been a nice sight every once in a while, but it always made him feel bad to see her here.
Someone as beautiful as her should have been able to move about freely for the world to see.
But things just aren't kind to some people.
Pitying himself only worsened his situation when he remembered that Rei had been born like that. Meanwhile, he had fallen into this situation because of his own carelessness.
It had been due to his own stupidity and Ninomiya's pride that he had ended up in this hospital room in the first place.
Can it be done? I hope so... For both me and Rei, I hope that it can be done.
The same thought that always came to mind while in the hospital had returned.
The thought of a better body.
Could we use trion to fix our bodies? Even if I have to be Subject #1 for it, I'll take it. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Rei, so I'm fine being the test subject.
There would be people who would miss him if something did happen, but he knew they would understand his current thought process. Using himself as an example was not the same as being Unneeded anymore. It would be a decision made based on wanting to make sure someone else was fine instead of making sure he could fade away.
"I'm not Unneeded anymore... Hm. If any of them heard me now, I'm sure I would be scolded pretty hard."
"Then it's a good thing that it's only us."
Yuki didn't jump, and he wasn't startled by the door opening.
He had heard the footsteps moving towards his room over the sounds of the clock ticking and the heart monitor's beeping.
When he turned his eyes towards the door, he got a look at who had walked through.
"Hey, Minoru. And... Urg. Did you really have to bring him here?"
Minrou gave an awkward laugh as the airhead began closing the door.
Once it was fully closed, the airhead scowled and looked away.
Yeah, I guess seeing me like this isn't something good for him.
He had been partially to blame for Yuki's current situation, so it made sense.
Likely sensing the tension in the room, Minoru coughed into his hand and moved to place a bag on the table next to Yuki's bed.
"Anyway... I wanted to come check up on you. I heard that Sekai was here earlier, so I thought it would be good for more than one visitor."
"I won't complain about some company. ...Well, I guess that isn't true for everyone."
The airhead huffed but said nothing in retaliation.
Normally, Yuki would be wary of that sort of reaction, but he understood where it was coming from.
"So how long are you supposed to be here this time?" asked Minoru. He pulled out an apple from the bag and began peeling it.
Yuki gave the apple a flat look but said nothing.
"I know this must be a pretty common sight for you, but it's one of the few things they allow us to bring in for you."
"No, no. I figure that much at this point. It still just sucks to see it every time. A bad reminder that I'm here in the first place."
Minoru lowered his brows in apology, but Yuki waved it off. There was nothing either one of them could do about it.
Off to the side, Yuki could see the airhead making sure to look out the window every few seconds.
I guess it's the only safe place for him to look right now.
It was annoying to have him look at the window so much. Both of them knew that it was both of their faults that he was here, not just one of them being stupid. Out of everything that happened between them, this was always the worst.
"Now that I think about it, this is the first time you've ever seen me here since that time, you stupid airhead."
"Hm. I have no reason to visit an idiot like you. Besides, there are always people crowding around and making more noise than they should."
"It's because they know how to have fun. Besides, the nurses tend to laugh at everything after a light scolding."
"Then maybe you really are the problem."
"Look at me directly first before saying stupid stuff like that."
The air in the room grew tense once more.
It had not been his plan to make it awkward for a second time, but this was just how things were between them.
"You know, Yuki," said Minoru. "There's something I've been wondering. It's about Sekai and Denji."
"I can't tell you anything about their situation as a former Unneeded."
Minoru shook his head, and the airhead scoffed. The polarizing reactions made him want to throw something, but the nurse assigned to him was already on the lookout for anything from him.
.
Not everything is about being Unneeded, thought Minoru.
It was sort of worrying that Yuki was still thinking about it. Wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, Minoru chose to think that it was coming up since those problems had only recently been dealt with.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Sekai and Denji may also have that same mentality.
But that's why this is important.
There was still something he needed to ask.
"Did you enjoy fighting them?"
"...Huh?"
More than just Yuki, Masataka also sounded confused by his question.
Minoru waited for a few seconds to make sure the two would not start a new argument. Once he knew they were in the clear, he began again.
"We fought Denji back when we were helping Arashiyama Squad and the Tamakoma Branch. You recently fought Sekai with Ketsueki."
"Yeah, I remember both of those times. Both of them were very annoying in their own right."
"Okay, but was that allowed? Were either of those fights allowed by you three?"
"What do you mean?"
In truth, he was not too sure what he was trying to ask here either.
"I guess I should say... Did you think the three of you gave it your everything during those times?"
.
Yuki was at a loss for what to say.
The conversation had moved to something neither he nor the airhead could understand. Even Minoru seemed a bit lost at his own words.
After deciding to take a moment to think about it, he came to a conclusion.
One that would hopefully fill the missing parts of their conversation.
"I...have regrets about both of those fights."
This would be his true feelings, so he hoped they would get through.
Being honest did not come easy for him anymore.
"That fight with Denji... I had been 'Yuki' at the time, so the amount I was holding back was bad. And the fight with Sekai had been done out of desperation to reach him. Actually...maybe I was also trying to reach Denji during our fight too."
It was hard to say when it came to those two.
"But it had been because Denji gave up that we tied with him. And my win against Sekai was due to Ketsu-san stepping in at the end. So I guess...I never did end up reaching them."
"Have you spoken to them since then?"
He nodded once.
Sekai had come to his hospital room, and the two had sat there for some time before Sekai needed to leave.
Denji had not come to see him at all.
But did I reach them? How far away have they been this whole time?
Only recently had he been able to catch up to those terrible people. Mei and Minoru had been there as well, so he got to catch up to them too.
There were many other people he had yet to reach since being set free from himself. Two of those people were the other two former Unneeded, whom he held a bit of admiration for.
"Ha ha... I guess they are still too far ahead. Compared to the other people around them, I'm too far away from reaching them."
"Idiot. They are the ones who haven't reached you yet."
Yuki blinked at the words that had been said. Not because of their words but because of who they had come from.
Minoru looked back, and the two of them saw that the airhead was now glaring outside.
"What...did you say?"
The plate set in front of them was bubbling. With each second that went by, a new bubble formed before popping. Along with the popping came a heat that reached their faces and stung their eyes. In front of the plate was a bowl of salad, and to their sides were glasses of water.
The first to test it was Murakami. Picking up his spoon, he poked at the curry set in front of him before pulling away as another bubble popped.
"I figured you all would want to watch the show before Mistuteru arrived, so I didn't bother taking your order before. As for you, Kō and Kanda, here is the special treat for the two of you."
Kanda gave a look in Mei's direction, but she only gave him a thumbs up and motioned for him to take a bite.
In the spot next to them, Kageura grinned and lifted three fingers.
He lowers one per second before lowering the third.
That was their cue to take a bite.
This would be their competition to determine who Mitsuteru would be sitting next to.
Murakami took a deep breath while Kanda mentally prepared himself.
After another second went by, they both picked up their spoons, scooped some curry with rice, and brought it closer to their mouths. They kept their eyes on where the glasses of water had been placed in case of an emergency.
Once they had the spoon in their mouths, they closed their lips and slid the spoons out.
Everyone at the table held their breaths in anticipation.
And finally...
"...This isn't too bad."
.
Murakami was the first to look at Mei.
The curry he had just eaten looked as deadly as ever, but the flavor was not bad and spread all along his tongue. More than that, the amount of spice in it was nowhere near as dangerous as he had come to expect from Mei.
It was only a bit hotter than normal curry.
Wanting to make sure that he was not going crazy, he took a look to his side to see that Kanda was also in relatively fine shape.
"How did you make it look like that without sending them to the hospital?"
"It's a trick I have been learning in secret. I call it 'Hot, but Not Deadly.' The appearance is a fake-out to see who has the guts to eat it. Once they do, they are rewarded with my many years of experience making curry."
"Are you really trying to pick a fight with curry...?"
"The god of curry would approve."
"Please tell me this isn't Shinto."
Mei's silence was worrying, but Murakami knew that it was better to leave that to Suzaku. Shinto had never been his thing in the first place.
I can't stop because of the shock of this being edible. I need to win so I can have Mitsuteru sit next to me!
Things had only been turned up at the thought of having the sniper boy sitting next to him.
I can spoil him for all of the time we have missed.
With a renewed sense of competition, he started to pick up the pace of his eating. Every few bites, he would take a drink from his water before going back.
The heat from the curry was getting to him slowly and was only tempered by the glass of water. After another bite, he could feel his cheeks start to warm up more.
.
Kanda could see it and felt worry start to rise.
The speed at which Murakami was going had him worried for two reasons. The first was because it looked like he would lose. The second was worry for Murakami himself.
Compared to the red cheeks of Murakami, he felt rather fine. Not only was he taking this slower than Murakami, he was certain that he could handle the heat much better. Every few bites he would look over, see more food off of Murakami's plate, then see his cheeks get even more red.
How far is he going to go for this...?
Both of them had their own reasons to win here, and Kanda thought he was in the best position to win, but there was clearly something that Murakami refused to give up for. Even when he couldn't handle the spices as well and his cheeks were red from the curry, he continued to take one spoonful after another.
It was only when Murakami was more than halfway done did Kanda notice how far he was from finishing.
Still...
He started picking up the pace himself.
I don't want to lose. I'm going to have him by my side!
With a renewed sense of competition, he started eating at a pace similar to Murakami's. To make up for the difference in remaining food, he decided to forego drinking any water.
I'm probably going to regret doing this later, but right now I want to win.
Without the water to help him, the curry would overtake his tastebuds, and the spices would start building up. The heat was already starting to get to him in the same way it did for Murakami. Unlike Murakami, he could handle it better, but it was still there.
The more he ate, the more he felt his stomach start to argue with him.
.
These two are really going at it.
At some point, Kageura had leaned his head against the palm of his hand to watch the curry race going on next to him.
Across from him, the rest of his squad and Mizukami were ordering their food.
So he finally decided to ignore the water too.
Murakami had been in the lead, but Kanda had started to catch up by not drinking any water. To make up for slacking like that, Murakami had followed Kanda's lead and stopped drinking any water.
As if to mock the two of them, Kageura took his own glass of water and started drinking from it.
Oh, this is pretty fresh. I guess Shitokei wasn't kidding when she said everything was fresh.
The water was refreshing, the glass was crystal clear, and the size of the cup meant that refills would not be constantly needed. It lowered the amount of time someone needed to wait before asking for a refill. As if to also make up for the wait time, the ice in the water was small enough that it could melt easily, but big enough that someone could not accidentally swallow a piece of it until it had melted into almost nothing.
They're also in small balls instead of cubes, so they would go down easily or melt faster from all sides. No one's mouth would get hurt if they stuck the ice in their mouth.
As someone whose family also runs a restaurant, he felt a bit jealous. At the same time, he was impressed by the amount of thought put into the space.
All that was left was how they dealt with idiots like their group.
Granted, Shitokei's used to this sort of thing. So there's no doubt she's already told her parents and the other workers how to handle us.
If anything, she was one of the worst now.
The thought sent shivers down his spine.
"And what about you, Kageura?"
Hearing his name being called, Kageura looked up while pointing at the table.
Shitokei had already gotten the orders from everyone else, so he made a decision to ask her something.
"Hey, Shitokei. Is the middle part of the table here what I think it is?"
"It is," she nodded. "So feel free to compare if you want. I can bring out the ingredients for you."
"Yeah, I think I'll go with that. Also, do you know what that guy likes?"
"I do. I'll bring out enough for everyone at the table, as well as their own orders."
"Wouldn't that be a bit much...?"
Kitazoe had a point. Even if the food was pretty cheap and tasted good, adding too much to the order would increase the bill.
No one wanted to think that Shitokei was doing this to get more money from them, but it was only natural to question it.
"There's no need to worry, Kitazoe. We allow customers to take anything home. We even provide after-meal treats on the house."
"Th-that isn't why I was asking!"
But it was nice to know that was their policy.
"As for the orders themselves, because my parents are the way they are, they said to give good discounts to whoever we wanted. That includes all of you. Oh, and the curry those two are eating is free since it came from me personally."
.
Shōgi Boy: "Are we sure this family isn't loaded!? What kind of business scheme is this!?"
Zoe: "I feel like we're cheating the system and stealing from them!"
Bright Child: "Maybe they want a huge tip!?"
Zoe: "But she also said we could take anything home! And we even get after-meal treats!"
Shōgi Boy: "This has to be a scam! Otherwise, I'm comin' here waaaaaaay more than Kage's!"
Kage: "You guys ever think that her parents are just that bad?"
.
"Oh, that works too," the three of them said in unison.
Kageura rolled his eyes. From the corner of his eye, he could see Ema looking towards the door every few seconds.
There was no doubt as to why he was doing that.
"Okay, I'll go with that. Once that guy gets here, we can see if he wants anything else."
"Fine by me. I will be your personal waiter while you're here, so just call for me whenever you need me."
"Don't you mean waitress?"
Everyone raised a brow at Kitazoe's question.
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to correct you! Waiter! Yes, waiter! Mei-san is the best waiter around!"
Mei only nodded and walked off.
Once she did, Murakami and Kanda finished their last bites. Each of their plates had been cleaned off, and both of them looked like they wanted to say something. Neither one of them did and instead looked at their plates before quickly getting up.
It had quickly turned into a race to see who could reach the bathroom first.
Somehow, they had both managed to be polite while walking through the restaurant.
"Should we send this to Misaki?"
"Depends on how much you want to deal with her."
"The SS would owe us one if we told them."
"Make sure it's only to Misaki-senpai then. Less risk of getting into trouble with the directors."
"Smart thinking," agreed Mizukami.
There was still the light rule put in place for the selection exam that they needed to follow. With Suzume not being a part of it, it meant they could message her just fine.
"Murakami and Kanda went to the bathroom together... Both in a rush... Faces red and stomachs full... That should be good enough."
"You're pretty messed up, you know that?"
Mizukami shrugged and turned back to everyone else.
"On a different note," he started. "What were you guys talkin' about on your way over? I couldn't really hear ya, but there were some things that sounded like they were interestin' there."
"It was about Mittsuncchi, so not much."
"I dunno. Tokyo sounds like a pretty fun conversation. Especially when it's 'bout him harassin' others."
"Didn't expect you to be too invested in Mitsu-kun."
"Iko-san and I are pretty big fans of him, actually. The reactions he gives are top-notch."
With the middle needing to be moved, Mizukami started to pull the bowl of salad towards him. There were all kinds of dressings they could use, giving them a nice set of options. This made it so that the customers had to get some of the salad on their plates before putting any sort of dressing on it. Each person would be allowed to do as they liked without having to worry about the other people around them.
Kitazoe and Ema followed Mizukami's example and grabbed the tongs after him to start placing the salad on their own plates.
Nire shook her head and instead went for her drink.
At some point, Mei had brought them all their specific drinks while refilling their waters.
"From what Oki's been sayin', Tokyo's in a pretty funny situation. Besides being a captain of his own squad, he's zonin' out during sniper practice."
"Is that true, Yuzuru?"
"I wouldn't know. I try to stay away from him during training. Otherwise, I end up having to deal with more than one annoying person."
Kageura Squad was aware of how Tōma was with him, so they understood where he was coming from.
Mizukami only raised a brow as he ate his salad.
"Then didja know he's in a bad position with his squad right now?"
.
Ema furrowed his brows as he chewed on his salad.
What is he talking about...?
He wanted to have something light before their main course got here. Now the simple salad was turning bitter with the conversation.
He was not the only one thinking this from the way Kitazoe was slowing down on his own salad. They had used different dressings for their own salads, but both of them had the same reaction once they had started eating.
So it really is the conversation.
"I don't know him as much as some of you, probably, but I was there when he was part of Taiyōko Squad. From what I can see, something's repeatin' for him. The way he's attached to Meishō Squad's the same as it was when he was with Taiyōko Squad."
"Mittsuncchi's been with a bunch of other squads too. He's also gotten attached to them before."
"Yeah, but he hasn't stayed with any of those ones as long as Meishō or Taiyōko. He was on Urushima's twice, but the amount of time still isn't close to the first and latest."
"So what are you saying?" asked Kageura.
What Mizukami was saying was easy to understand, but it felt like it was more speculation than actual fact.
Even so, Ema couldn't help but see where Mizukami was getting this from.
After all...I was also there to watch him crash down after Taiyōko Squad...
It was very painful to watch. The pure exhaustion that Mitsuteru had shown during that time had been one of the reasons why Ema had moved away from him in the first place.
Now there was a clear gap between the two of them.
While Mitsuteru had tried to lessen that gap, Ema had only done his best to maintain or widen it. Further pushing away his fellow student and making it harder to accept anything involving him. It had reached the point where it was hard to be around him, but it felt wrong to know that he was not around at times.
"I'm just sayin' that there might be another crash and burn comin' up. Especially since he isn't gonna be with his squad for the exam."
"Mittsuncchi isn't-..."
"It's not the same as before."
The words had left his mouth before he could register what he was saying.
I guess there's no backing out now.
Everyone was looking at him now. Backing down would mean he had no faith in Mitsuteru.
"Even if he gets attached to his current squad, they understand each other better than his first one. There's no way any issues like that can come up again. And if they do, this time...there will be people who are actually looking out for him."
"So you're finally standing up for him?"
That wasn't it.
The only thing he was doing was telling everyone the truth.
"Mitsuteru isn't as crazy as everyone else. He's just a normal guy who knows that he needs the people around him."
Oh, the dressing tastes good again. I wonder why.
"..."
"Hm?"
Everyone at the table had gone silent.
Wondering why that was, Ema looked up in time to see it.
"Yuzuru!"