"What do you all think of him?"
Hoshino watched from the window as the blue-haired boy was led by Shiroko to the school gate. When they had crossed the gate, her eyes went back to her other underclassmen and posed that question.
Nonomi was the first to ponder, humming thoughtfully. "I think he's interesting. His attitude reminds me a lot of Shiroko-chan. He was mostly quiet for the entire time, only speaking when he needed to." She clapped her hands. "It's like seeing another version of Shiroko-chan!"
"It's the same for me, although I think I find him more unreadable than her. Other than that, he's a good person. He listened to us patiently and seemed to be concerned about Abydos, both the school and the town." Ayane agreed.
Everyone was looking at the last student who hadn't spoken up yet.
"W-Well, for me, I'm just happy he's not a bad guy. It would be difficult if he turned out to be otherwise and he became an enemy to Abydos." The catgirl finally answered.
"Ahh, Serika-chan is in tsundere mode~! Can't you be a little honest with yourself? I know it's more than just the fact he's not here to cause problems."
"Sh-Shut up, Senpai! I am speaking honestly! And I have the same thoughts as the others about him!"
"Okay, okay, no need to get flared up." Hoshino waved her hand before letting it down on the table. "That reminds me. What was that, Serika-chan? I know you're the type to always lose composure, but why did you?"
"What do you mean always? I'm not that easy to get mad, right?" When Serika looked around, the others had their heads away, refusing to meet her eyes. "Seriously?! Also, what do you mean, Senpai?"
"Earlier, when we were about to tell him how we're dealing with the cause." Hoshino replied, gazing back at the catgirl. "Why were you so adamant about not telling him the school's debt? Like I said before, it isn't anything that needs to be kept secret."
Serika immediately looked down at that. "...I know it's not. But…" She took a breath, then looked up. "We've been working very hard to earn money to pay the debt. We've been doing it ourselves, as students of Abydos trying to save their school. An outsider like him does not need to care about our problem."
"Because he's not one of us?"
A mute nod was all the pink-haired girl got, which only made her sigh.
"Oh well, what's done is done." Changing the subject, if only to distract everyone, Hoshino said, "You know, I'm surprised nobody asked him if he's a long-lost family member of the chairman of Pandemonium Society."
"Ah! I forgot about that!" Ayane suddenly exclaimed. "Back when he introduced his name to us in the infirmary, I was pretty sure I'd heard that name somewhere before. I had a mind to ask him about that—if he's related to that student council, not the family part—but considering how tired he was after waking up, I had to shelve the question down."
"Me too! I had the same thought after hearing his name. Though, we already had our answer without even asking that out loud, knowing he's obviously not from Kivotos." Nonomi provided.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Hoshino said as she grinned. "Who knows, he probably has a sibling attending in Gehenna and didn't tell us about it."
"Hoshino-senpai, that joke won't work; he didn't even know about Kivotos until now, let alone Gehenna." Nonomi shook her head before putting one finger on her cheek. "Although, my own question was if he's the chairman himself."
"Nah, I may be old, but my brain certainly remembers the last name of the chairman is Hanuma, not Yuki."
"Hold on for a moment, what are you talking about?" Serika intercepted, confused.
"Gehenna's Pandemonium Society," Ayane spoke to the catgirl, "has someone who goes by the name of Makoto, who is their chairman." Then she turned to the pink-haired girl. "And you're right, the name of the chairman is Hanuma Makoto, so there's no way he's related to Gehenna's student council or the chairman herself, even if they happen to share the same first name which I admit I did not expect."
"I-I see," said the catgirl, then she coughed. "O-Of course I know that, and I'm willing to bet someone like him would be widely known way before he could even think about becoming a president of a student council."
"Hoh?" Hoshino looked at Serika. "Why do I have a feeling that you were lying about knowing her name?"
"I-I do know her name! I was jogging my memory since I never paid much attention to Gehenna's famous students!"
"Sure, sure…" Hoshino raised her arms under the catgirl's glare.
As her juniors talked among themselves, the third year let her mind think back to their recent guest.
Yuki Makoto. What an interesting guy.
Unlike the other foreign man whom she'd not thought about very much, Makoto was someone who didn't have an air of suspicion like she would associate with shady men. Maybe because of her distrust toward adults, maybe because Makoto was not an adult, or maybe because she had finally met a good kind of foreigner. The point was, Makoto was someone she could imagine getting along with and she found it a fresh breather, even if it's just a little. It helped that he was every bit similar to her Shiroko-chan.
Ayane wasn't wrong when she said he was unreadable. In a short time she and the others knew him, Makoto was a reserved guy who wore a neutral face which could be seen as either disinterested or uncaring. It was like looking at Shiroko in her early first year when the wolf girl was a lot inexpressive until she slowly began to show emotions as she spent her school life. That's not to say Makoto was always stone-faced; he sometimes expressed his emotions through his face as shown during the meeting.
Like that small smile he wore when he thought nobody was looking. She found it quite charming.
And then there's the story he had told them.
She immediately knew that, while he wasn't entirely lying to them, he wasn't telling them everything and only gave curt answers most of the time. It was hardly a surprise though, because even though they were all amicable to each other, he was still a newcomer who chose not to dump the whole bucket to them in their first proper meeting. She would do the same if she was in his position.
His story might not be without a single drop of liquid, but it was enough to quench their thirst for curiosity about him.
A former student of a school called Gekkoukan. A former member of a club called Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad—shortened to SEES—whose purpose was to fight some kind of monsters. Hearing these and knowing about a school and a club that wasn't from Kivotos was admittedly amazing, even if the idea of fighting monsters sounded straight from fantasy, but there's one other thing that caught her interest more.
His power. Persona, he called it.
She silently frowned when she replayed that specific moment.
From what she saw when he demonstrated it, his power allowed him to summon beings that came straight from him. She remembered that big mechanical figure from yesterday who carried a lyre and apparently could summon literal fire. And today was a cute snowman-fairy who barely reached her height and could summon ice. The back of her mind somehow thought it might rival those Momo mascots if it was merchandise.
However, it was not the power itself and the beings that made her frown.
It was the utilization of his power by doing a seemingly suicidal method.
Suicide and Death were terms you hear very very rare in Kivotos. Students in this city were protected by their halos and even non-students were tough against harmful danger, albeit a little less tougher than the students. It's because of this fact that everyone here adopted the tradition of shooting lethal guns against each other since they wouldn't have to worry about getting killed. However, they were not invisible and they were still susceptible to attacks that caused serious injuries, but such cases never led to death.
When Makoto, a human not from Kivotos, pointed his pistol at his head, she and her juniors instinctively reacted a little with a mind to stop him, even after knowing that there's no bullet in it. The explanation behind this was simple; even no one in Kivotos would commit a dangerous and unbelievable act such as shooting themselves, resistance to bullets or not.
This act brought a bitter memory to her mind as she watched him about to summon his Persona. A memory she was trying her damndest to cope with until now. And maybe it's because of this, but the next part shook her core.
Just for a split second, just as he shot himself, his image was overlapped by her.
Kuchinashi Yume. A clumsy and naive Abydos student who was the Abydos Student Council President… and her dear senpai who's probably the only Kivotos student who actually died.
She was thankful that her surprised expression could be also interpreted as her reaction of seeing his Persona, and she quickly managed to appear like nothing else happened. But in that split second moment, her heart was trembling. Not even hugging Jack Frost could calm her heart.
It was weird to her. Her senpai's death was not caused by a bullet to the head, let alone suicide. Watching Makoto shoot himself shouldn't make her see that illusion, and yet, she saw it. Why? This was something she couldn't understand.
This led to her facade being broken later. Her facade which she maintained for the longest time, broke for a small period of time as she asked him why the suicidal-looking summoning method. It was after he provided the answer of accepting mortality that she now understood.
The memory of finding her senpai's corpse, and the whole utilization of Persona moment… they were connected to one thing.
Hoshino had witnessed death personally, a fewer than one percent incident in this city of daily conflict.
Makoto was someone who was comfortable talking about death and probably had seen people die. Hoshino, on the other hand, had seen a person die but hadn't gotten her grip on the concept of death.
They had seen death, but one of them was already gripping on it.
Just who are you really, Yuki Makoto?
Hoshino sighed, slumping down over her seat. It's best she did not think too much of it. With him proven to be not causing problems, it was no longer Abydos' concern. She hoped he succeeded in finding a place to continue his school life at one of the Kivotos' aca…
Her eyes slowly widened as a thought came into her.
She berated herself. Why didn't she think of it sooner? A chance was right in front of them, yet they were letting it slip past them and going to lose it if they didn't act fast.
A chance to add a number to their school… and a chance to keep an eye on him closely, if only to know if there's another reason why she was seeing Yume in his stead for the briefest moment.
It would seem we're going to meet again soon. But first…
"Nonomi-chan."
"Yes, senpai?"
"The tour thing was your own idea, right?"
"Uh, yes, I felt bad letting Makoto-san get stuck in the infirmary for the rest of the night, so I decided to give him a walk around the school in the morning."
"Then it's a good thing you did that, because I have a suggestion."
Serika, Ayane, and Nonomi listened in as Hoshino told them the suggestion… which then formed into a discussion on it with each of them wearing varying expressions.
Shiroko needed to know about this suggestion too once she came back from escorting.
Shiba Seki Ramen, Next Day, Daytime
The ramen shop was the same as when Makoto first did his first job. No rush hour and only moderate customers were coming in and out.
He had worn back the Shibaseki clothes, acting as a waiter again. He went through the same motions as before, taking orders and cleaning the tables.
"Makoto lad, deliver these to the table over there."
"Hai." The boy took a tray of two bowls of ramen from Master Shiba and brought them over to the occupied table at the corner, then once that's done, he returned to wiping another table used by adult cats earlier.
"I said this before, but you're really good at this." Makoto heard the chef speak to him. "I had a mind to hire you if Serika-chan's busy with other stuff, but now that you're living with me, that wouldn't be necessary anymore."
After Shiroko escorted him and headed back to the school, Makoto told Shiba a bit about his time in Abydos school and his interaction with the students. It was only then he realized he didn't have a home to live in in this world which he relayed to the chef. To his surprise, Shiba allowed him to stay at his home under the condition that the boy wouldn't be a freeloader. Makoto denied his offer at first, not because of the freeloader part, but because he didn't want to bother him anymore when he had taken care of him. In the end, the boy relented when the chef insisted.
Master Shiba really was kind, maybe too kind to him.
"Of course," Shiba continued, "I will pay you for your work even though we live under the same roof, although wouldn't living together mean you could use my fund too…?" He muttered at the last part.
Makoto glanced from his wiping to Shiba. "You don't need to do that. Allowing me to stay at your home is more than enough payment you've given me." Being free labor in this restaurant didn't concern him at all. He still needed to repay the chef's hospitality both for when he was taken care of after he was found and now for letting him stay in the chef's house.
Shiba couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "Perhaps, but you still need money to hold out in this city. Can't wander around without some cash in your pocket, am I right?"
Makoto couldn't refute that. No matter where you ended up in, money was an essential factor for survival in the modern world.
For the next few minutes, the owner and his waiter went about doing their respective task leisurely. A few regulars even engaged in a conversation with the new face to get to know him better before he excused himself as he couldn't stay in the same spot for long in the middle of his shift.
The sound of the sliding door alerted them of new customers.
"Welcome!" Shiba greeted, only to blink in surprise. "Ah, it's you girls!"
Makoto looked up from his work to see all the Foreclosure Task Force members just entering the ramen shop.
"Yo, boss! We're here to have your superb food for lunch." Hoshino raised her hand in greeting. The other girls also waved at the chef.
Shiba laughed. "It makes me happy to hear that. It's not every day that all the Abydos students visit my humble restaurant." He then looked at his currently off-time part-time waitress.
Catching his gaze, Serika hastily said, "I-I'm here with them to eat. I still have today before I can return to work."
"Indeed." Shiba nodded. "Well, don't just stand there and pick your table. A waiter you know will take your order shortly."
As the chef retreated back to the kitchen, the girls sat at one of the tables. Makoto soon arrived at their table with a note and a pen, ready to take their orders.
Hoshino whistled. "Hello again, Makoto-san. I must say you look really good in that uniform."
"Yup yup! Who knew wearing that makes you more handsome? Oh! Mind if I take a picture of you later?" Nonomi said. Shiroko meanwhile merely gave him a thumbs up.
"Thanks." Taking the compliments in stride, Makoto asked, "What would you like to order?"
After taking their orders, he delivered them to Shiba while absentmindedly listening to the girls' chatter about seeing Serika in Shibaseki uniform and selling pictures of it (Hoshino's word), much to the catgirl's indignation and embarrassment. Maybe he shouldn't allow them to take his pictures.
Also, if he wasn't focused on his duty, he would have seen said catgirl watching his every movement if he looked back at them.
Later, the orders were served and the girls said, "Itadakimasu!" before happily eating in silence.
"Mm! Delicious!" said Ayane before taking another slurp.
"It is!" Hoshino agreed. "You should've told us about this place earlier, Serika-chan!"
"Well, I didn't think that since I thought you guys already knew about this place. It's been here for long."
"I guess, but I want to see you as a waitress wearing this shop's uniform when I come here."
"J-Just keep eating!"
As they ate, Shiba was watching them eating his delicious food with a smile and happiness in his heart. Makoto also silently watched them eating as the only occupants in the shop now were him, Master Shiba, and the Foreclosure Task Force.
After they finished eating, Master Shiba approached the girls.
"So, how's the ramen? Is it tasteful?"
"""It was very great!""" They chorused.
"I am pleased to hear that! I will continue making ramen even more delicious, just you wait!" Shiba declared with so much pride.
"I can't wait for it!" Ayane said. Then she looked at the rest of the members before looking up at him again. "Um, is it okay to borrow Makoto-san for a bit? We're also here for him to talk about something."
"Oh, you want to talk to him? Sure."
Shiba then was replaced by Makoto when the boy heard they wanted to talk to him.
"What can I help you with?" He asked.
"Well, you can help us by sitting with us first. There's still space beside Ayane-chan." Hoshino offered while smirking.
"E-Eh?!"
"Alright." He sat beside the elf whose face began to redden a little.
On one side were Serika, Shiroko, and Hoshino. On the other side were Nonomi, Ayane, and Makoto, with the blue-haired boy facing the pink-haired girl.
"So," Hoshino began, staring at his visible blue eye that wasn't hidden by his long bangs. "I know this sounds strange considering you haven't been here for even a week, but what do you think of Kivotos so far?"
"...It's a great place. I haven't seen the other parts of the city yet, so I can't say much, but I find Kivotos to be… ahead of its time and mystical."
"Mystical? That's a first. Why is that?"
"...The sky, for one. The people here too."
"...Okay. Then what about Abydos? We're all aware it's no longer in top condition as we have told you before, but having been in this district for a few days, how do you feel about it?"
Makoto was silent for a bit before replying, "Master Shiba has told me Abydos used to be prime and incredible before it became nowadays. It's hotter than I'm used to, almost on par with summertime. Again, I can't say much since I've been here not very long, but… I think Abydos is not a bad place to live, even with its current state."
"...I see." Hoshino seemed to be smiling if her curved lips were any indication. "Anyways, you're still looking for where you would continue your study, right?"
"I haven't started on that. I'm still fulfilling my debt here by helping Master Shiba with his business."
"Right." Hoshino glanced at the other girls who all gave her a nod. It's now or never. "Makoto-san, we of the Abydos High School would like to give you an invitation. An offer, if you'd like."
Makoto raised an eyebrow. The way she said that meant she was not inviting him to visit the school again as a guest, so what did she mean by–
His eyes widened slightly. Was she possibly…?
She cleared her throat before sitting straight, five pairs of eyes full of anticipation.
"Yuki Makoto, would you like to become a student of Abydos?"
The rest of the girls gulped. This was it. While they indeed came to Shiba Seki Ramen to have lunch, their real plan of coming here after having a lengthy discussion about it yesterday and all of them ultimately were on the same page was to recruit him into their school, as suggested by their president.
When he hadn't said anything, Shiroko spoke, "We understand if you feel hesitant. Our school is not optimal, and though you can be a normal student, we don't want to burden you with the school's heavy problems unwillingly, so we completely understand–"
"I accept."
"–if you reject the offer as there are better schools to…" She slowly stopped. "Sorry?"
"I accept." He repeated.
"Wait, really?! Just like that?! I was expecting a refusal of some kind with how you kept quiet!" Serika exclaimed.
"Ano, we're happy that you want to join our school, but can I ask why?" Ayane asked.
"I am not perturbed by the fact that your school is facing very serious problems or that it only has you five as its remaining students. A school is still a place to study, regardless of the problem it has." Makoto gave his reason, and then he smiled. "And you look like you need every help you can get. Having another student at your school will certainly make things a little better."
For a while, none spoke a word until most of the girls began wearing delighted smiles. Meanwhile, Shiba heard everything from his spot and couldn't help but feel happy.
"Well, today is really our lucky day." Hoshino spoke, a wide grin on her face. "Never in my wildest dreams will we be getting a new student after Serika and Ayane this year." She extended her hand for a handshake. "Although it's late, glad to have you on board."
Seeing her waiting hand, he reciprocated the gesture in return, both of their hands locked together.
By joining their school, he had established a connection with the Foreclosure Task Force…
…
…
…
"Umm, you can let go of my hand now."
"Oh…" As he released the handshake, Hoshino saw him staring at his hand in confusion. She didn't know why he was doing that; she didn't grip his hand very hard, right?
"What's wrong? Never shook hands with a woman before?" She said teasingly.
He looked up. "No, it's– …It's nothing." He shook his head and put his hand into his pocket pants.
"Hooray! I think this calls for another ceremony. Don't you all agree?" Nonomi cheered, nearly tearing up in happiness.
"I think it's already way past that, Nonomi-senpai." Ayane giggled. "Besides, this is more of receiving a transfer student from a different school, so there's no need–"
"I disagree. We celebrated when we were first welcomed to the school. It's only fair we do the same for him." Shiroko said before turning to the catgirl. "Right, Serika?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm okay with that." Serika said offhandedly. Was she not paying attention, the wolf girl wondered. "Wait, what class will he be in?"
"Isn't it obvious? He'll be in the third year, which means we're having a new senior!" Nonomi replied happily, then she turned to Makoto. "May I call you Makoto-senpai from now on?"
"...You may."
"Makoto… senpai." Shiroko uttered. "Nn, you're my senpai now."
Senpai… he never had anyone calling him that back in his world. Not even Ken who addressed him with -san.
It would be a new experience being called that, and in all honesty? He didn't mind it one bit.
"Ayane-chan, I trust you can handle the registration form for him?" Hoshino asked the elf.
"Yes, Hoshino-senpai. In fact, I can start now and have him fill out the form immediately."
"Nah, you can do that tomorrow; we're not exactly in a hurry." The no longer sole third year had her hands behind her head. "But man, Abydos now has six students. Two first years, two second years, and two third years. I also believe this marks the beginning of the history of Abydos' first ever male student, something that even the prestigious academies never have."
Her eyes went to her new classmate, her expression gentle.
"I look forward to our wonderful relationship this year, Makoto-kun."
To Be Continued…
In case the chapter title isn't telling you, this is the second part of Chapter 3, which now becomes Chapter 4 and is shorter than the first part.
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