The two left the trophy room and went their separate ways for the time being. Sayaka walked to the dining hall while TK went to his room, both agreeing to meet back up at the dining hall for some breakfast after TK dropped off the sword. He highly doubts that he'll ever have to use the weapon, but TK was happy to have something to decorate his room with. TK placed the sword on the shelf, deeming it the best place for the weapon when he realized he hadn't hung up any of his posters.
He decided to hang them up later and left his room. He made it as far as the end of the hallway when he heard someone call out his name.
"Hey, uh, Takeru, right?"
TK turned around to see Leon walking up to him.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I just wanted to see if you wanted to help me find a way out of this place unless you're busy," Leon said.
"Sure, but I'm on my way to eat breakfast right now, so maybe later?" TK asked, but the redhead didn't seem to mind.
"That's fine, just meet me in the A/V room when you're done!" Leon said before walking off to a different part of the school.
"Why would there be a way out in there?" Yolei pondered.
"Maybe there's a secret passageway," Davis said.
"Why would there be a secret passageway?" Yolei questioned him like he said something stupid.
"They were trapped in a school by a psychopathic bear. A secret door or passageway isn't that crazy of an idea!" Davis argued.
"When someone says it out loud, I realize how sad it is that this isn't the craziest thing any of us have been through," Tai said, and everyone sadly agreed with him.
TK soon arrived at the dining hall to see Sayaka laying down two plates of pancakes on one of the tables. She smiled when she saw him and waved him over.
"She actually knows how to cook. I'm surprised," Izzy said.
"Why, because you thought she was just another pretty face?" Mimi asked defensively.
"What?! No, I thought she would've been too busy being an Idol to pick up a hobby," Izzy quickly answered.
"Anyone can cook, Izzy. Sure, it's hard, but if you know how to follow a recipe, then everyone can cook," Mimi told him.
"I didn't know what you wanted to drink, so I left it up to you. There's milk and an assortment of juices in the kitchen," she said, and she gave him a cup. TK took it and went into the kitchen, where he found Hina munching away on a donut.
"Hey, Hina. How's it going?"
She looked up from her donut and joyfully waved at him.
"Hey, TK! I'm doing pretty well," she told him before shoving her face back into her sugary breakfast. TK chuckled when he saw it and poured some coffee into his cup, grateful that someone had already made some earlier.
"You really like donuts, don't you?"
Hina nodded her head vigorously as she swallowed her food.
"They're the best! I believe that all the world's problems would be solved if everyone had a donut!"
"Ain't that the truth," Davis proudly said. "When I have a donut for breakfast, I know it's gonna be a great day."
"They're just donuts, Davis. There's nothing special about them," Ken told his best friend.
"How could you say something like that?" Davis asked in an offended tone.
"Yeah, they're delicious," Yolei chimed in.
"I just never saw the appeal," Ken said while shrugging his shoulders.
"Have you ever tried one?" Kari asked, and Ken shook his head.
"My mom never really liked having sweets in the house."
"Then how could you judge them if you never ate one!" Davis exclaimed.
"After this, you're eating a donut," Yolei told Ken, and he sighed.
"Fine, but you'll be wasting your time."
She looked at the clock before leaving the kitchen. "I would like to stay and chat, but me and Sakura are going to work out. You should join us sometime."
"I'll think about it," TK told her, and she left.
"It's a good thing that Hina invited you to join because if it was Sakura, she would've destroyed you with her exercises," Tai told TK.
"I would've been fine. She would've gone easy on me," TK said.
"In a fight, yes, but who's to say she wouldn't put you through the same workout she does?" Tai countered.
"I think she would've started small, Tai. She wouldn't throw him into the deep end right off the bat. She doesn't seem like that type of girl," Sora said.
He soon joined back up with Sayaka at their table and started eating his breakfast. The two didn't talk much as they ate. They enjoyed the silence and each other's company.
"That was good," TK said after finishing his food, and Sayaka smiled.
"I'm glad you liked it. Having you by my side really makes me feel a lot better," Sayaka said. She soon frowned and sighed. "I hate that we had to meet again under such horrible conditions… I'm relieved you're with me."
"I'm happy you're with me too," TK told her, and she started smiling again.
"R-Really?" She giggled. "Thank you for the flattery."
"Not even trying, and you're making her smitten," Matt teased his brother.
"Could you please stop," TK begged his brother.
"Yeah, it's starting to get annoying," Kari quietly added. Her cheeks were bright red, causing Mimi to giggle.
"I don't know, it's starting to get funnier."
Kari covered her face and grumbled.
She then brought a finger to her chin and posed like she was thinking.
"But it's kind of strange, you know? I never thought I'd get a chance to really talk to you like this. All throughout elementary school, you never talked to me. In fact, you never even looked at me."
"That's because I was busy with my own stuff…," TK said, who quickly realized what Sayaka just said. "...Wait, how do you know I never looked at you?"
"Because I looked at you all the time," Sayaka revealed.
"She was?" TK said, surprised by the revelation.
"I'm surprised you didn't know," Yolei said. "I remember her stealing some glances at you during lunch, and she only ever watched you during your basketball games."
"Yeah, she was also doing it during class. I thought it was because of your blond hair," Davis added.
"I wonder what I did to make her do that?" TK pondered.
"Huh?"
"I was always looking for an opportunity to talk to you. I even talked to some of your friends in hopes of talking to you," Sayaka said, and TK was still shocked.
"That's why she wanted to talk to me!? I thought she liked my soccer skills!" Davis exclaimed.
"Why did you think that?" Mimi asked.
"Because that's all we talked about. She never mentioned TZ once," Davis answered, which caused a few eyebrows to raise.
"Really?" Tai asked, and Davis nodded.
"Now that I think about it, I don't remember Sayaka ever asking about TK," Kari spoke up.
"Then why did she talk with you if she never asked about TK?" Yolei questioned.
"She was probably too shy to talk to him directly," Sora said.
"And she probably didn't want to be that person who only hangs out with you just so they could talk to your friends," Mimi added. "You would not believe how many girls I had to ignore because they only wanted to talk to Tai or Joe instead of being friends with me."
"WHAT!?" Both Tai and Joe exclaimed.
"Why would you do that!?" Tai asked with an angry tone. Joe also looked at Mimi with a betrayed look.
"Because if they have to use me to get to you, then they're not worth your time," Mimi answered.
"But we should be the ones to decide that," Joe said, and Mimi rolled her eyes.
"Fine, the next time it happens I'll introduce her to you, but just to let you know if she's willing to use your friends for her own personal gain, then what will she do to you?"
Tai opened his mouth to speak but then closed it. He looked at Joe, who appeared to be thinking about what Mimi said.
"You wanted to talk to me?"
"But you were always so busy with basketball and your computer club."
"So that's what everyone thought we were doing," Davis said.
"It's a good thing we learned how to open ports at home or else it would've been bad when they realized we've never been to one club meeting," Yolei said.
"Also so we didn't have to break into school during the summer or school breaks," Cody added.
"I ended up transferring before we could even say a word to each other. That was one of my biggest regrets," Sayaka said, and TK felt bad. He wished he knew that she wanted to talk to him, but just like she said, he was busy with basketball and the Digital World, or to everyone else computer club. There was one thing he was confused about, though.
"Why me? Out of everyone else in our school and class, why me?" TK asked, making Sayaka flustered. Her cheeks were red, and she had a hard time looking TK in the eyes.
"Do you remember that day when your friend Hikari fainted during class?" Sayaka asked, and TK nodded. How could he forget? It was the day when his best friend was transported to the Dark Ocean. It was a terrifying day for both of them.
"Don't remind me," Kari said with a shiver.
"Are you feeling OK?" TK worriedly asked, and Kari smiled.
"I am. I'm glad that I don't have to worry about that place anymore."
"You called out her name before she fainted and ran to check up on her after the class ended. I also remember seeing you calling out her name to the ocean. I thought it was beautiful how much you care for your friends," Sayaka said, and TK couldn't help but blush.
"I did it because that's how me and my friends are, we always look out for each other and do our best to pick each other up when we're feeling low."
"And that's how it'll always be," Sora proudly said.
"Yup, as long as we're together, we'll be there to help each other," Mimi added.
"That's so sweet, and hearing you say that makes me wish we met again under better circumstances," Sayaka said, and TK couldn't help but chuckle.
"I think that would've been better too, running into each other on the streets or bumping into each other on a train would've been better than this," TK said, but Sayaka couldn't help but feel sad. TK patted her back to make her feel better.
"Don't worry, someone will come to save us soon, and if not I'll make sure that we all get out of here!" TK promised, and it made her feel better. She even smiled a little.
"I believe you! My intuition says so, and my intuition always turns out to be right. Cuz I'm psychic," Sayaka giggled, and TK smiled, glad that he was able to make his friend feel better. "Kidding, kidding!"
"She clearly likes you, TK," Yolei said. "You should ask her out."
"I don't know," TK said with an unsure voice. "What Mimi said got to me. She kinda used Kari and Davis to get to me, so I don't know if I should date someone who would do that."
"I think you should," Mimi spoke up. "She did use Davis and Kari in some way, but she chose to talk to you when she saw you again."
TK hummed and turned to Kari, who looked indecisive.
"You think I should do it?"
Kari turned away to hide her emotions.
"It's up to you, TK. I can't make this decision for you," she told him, and TK slowly nodded.
"I'll think about it. I mean, this is the first time we've officially met, so I would like to get to know her more," TK said.
"Good idea. For all we know, she could be crazy," Tai said.
The screen changed to show TK and Leon in the A/V room.
It was a room full of tables with small screens on them and a small control panel as well. There was also a huge screen on the wall in between two speakers that looked like boomboxes.
The two boys decided to split up to opposite sides of the room to check all the table screens. Leon's reasoning for this was that he thought there could be a button that would open a secret tunnel for them to escape through. TK thought it was highly unlikely for there to be a secret tunnel, but seeing how they were being held captive by a robotic bear, anything is possible.
"And you doubted me," Davis proudly said.
"OK, you were right this time. Don't get a big head over it," Yolei told him.
They started going from table to table but nothing happened.
"I got nothing over here! How about you?" Leon asked from across the room. TK shook his head, and Leon groaned before turning his attention to the screen on the wall. "Maybe there's something behind there? Help me move it!"
The two boys moved to the screen and tried to lift it off the wall. It wouldn't budge, and Leon slammed his hand against the screen in frustration. TK knocked on the screen to see if there was anything hollow behind it, but it was all solid.
"I'm not even afraid anymore. Now I'm just pissed off…" Leon groaned and hit the screen again. "Why?! Why is this happening to me?! This isn't fair, man! I mean, am I wrong?"
"You're not wrong, but you're trapped with fourteen other people, so stop with the 'me' talk," Cody told the screen.
"I always hate when people complain about having the worst of it when they're sharing the experience," Yolei said.
"It's different for everyone. We don't know how they're feeling or what they went through in their life," Kari told her.
"I get that, but I don't think he went through anything really bad in his life," Yolei retorted.
"If we keep watching, then we might learn if he did," Ken butted in.
"Yeah, it really is," TK said with a hint of sarcasm. TK agreed that it was unfair that they were all trapped here, and he knew Leon felt the same, but the way he said it made him sound selfish.
"Right?! Totally unfair. Ultra unfair! Just like having to shave my head right before every baseball game!" Leon complained.
"Didn't you choose to do that, right?" TK asked, which seemed to frustrate Leon more.
"C'mon man! Are you against me now too!?" TK shook his head at Leon's accusation. "I didn't even wanna play! But the coach and all the teachers begged me, so I did!"
"He didn't even want to play in the first place!?" Yolei exclaimed. "Just how good is this guy?"
"He's a prodigy," Ken bluntly told her.
"But how did the teachers and coaches know he was good?" Joe asked.
"They probably saw him play during gym class or during sports day," TK answered. "It's sorta common for there to be players on a team who don't want to play."
"Really?" Mimi asked, and TK nodded.
"Yeah, there's a guy on my team who doesn't like to play basketball, but joined because the coaches asked him to because he's tall."
"Same for me. There's a guy who's on my team because he's fast. He has no skill and always looks disinterested when he's on the bench," Ken added.
"And then they made me shave my head, just cuz it's 'tradition'. How's that fair?!"
"You really hate baseball that much?" TK asked. TK understood his frustrations a little, and even some of his friends might, too. Sure, they were never asked to shave their heads before every game. He knows Tai and Davis would put up a fight, and it doesn't give you any physical advantage. But he understood being forced to do something you don't want to do.
His old basketball coach wanted him to switch positions from being a point guard to a shooting guard because he had the best shot on the team. It didn't work out as well as the coach hoped for because when he switched positions, his shooting percentage went down, and his replacement couldn't pass the ball as well as he did. When he played at Point Guard, he didn't shoot a lot because he either cut into the lane for an easy lay-up or because he passed to a wide-open teammate for an easy bucket. They also lossed a lot of games when he was at shooting guard, and it got so bad that his coach was relieved from his duties during their losing streak before he was put back to his natural position.
"Great. Something to look forward to," TK said sarcastically.
"Damn straight I do! Who has fun running around on a dusty field for three hours!?"
'Isn't the baseball field a sacred ground for players?' TK thought.
"But it's so not cool! Spending all that time at practice, getting covered in sweat and dirt…" Leon ran his hand through his hair as he thought back on his playing days. "It's just baseball, right? It's easy! Who needs to practice!?"
"Everyone does. Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do," Sora said.
'Whoever decided to bless this man with his talent might've made a mistake,' TK thought, and he felt a little disappointed. To have all that talent and choosing to waste it is saddening because a lot of people work hard and never reach the level that Leon is on. If he wasn't happy playing baseball, then TK supports his decision to quit, but he couldn't help feeling sad that he was throwing away a massive opportunity.
"He's making me mad and sad at the same time," Sora said. "He has all this talent, and he's just gonna throw it away."
"I understand. I always hated when someone talented makes my team and won't even try," Tai admitted. "There's a lot of guys who don't make the team, but they give it everything they've got. Those are the guys that I want to play with."
"Still… I gotta admit, baseball wasn't all bad. It did have a few things going for it…"
"The feeling of camaraderie between you and your teammates and the euphoric feeling after winning a big game?" TK asked, and Leon gave him a weird look.
"Nah, nothin' like that! I can't stand being around a bunch of sweaty guys. So totally uncool!"
"Then what was it?"
"Well, I hate studying, right? But I still got into this super fancy school on a sports scholarship. As long as I kept playing, I never had to study!"
"You can't be too upset with him for that. I would do the same thing if I was super talented in a sport I didn't like," Davis admitted.
"But why put yourself through something you don't like? The reward can't be that great," Kari said.
"Well…" TK said, and Kari gave him a disappointed look.
"TK, don't tell me you agree with that."
"It's a little scummy, but you can't say he's not taking advantage of his gifts. It's clearly working because it got him into the most elite school in the country, maybe even the world," TK told her.
"But it's not right," Kari stated.
"You're right, but if you had something that could make your life easier, then who's to judge you for using it," Ken said.
"And besides that…" Leon smirked and had a little twinkle in his eye. "It made me super popular with the ladies! Booya! Ya jealous? I got to third base in more ways than one, if ya know what I'm sayin'! …Just kidding!"
"Great, he's a creep too," Mimi whined.
"At least he's not as bad as Hifumi," Sora told her.
TK was speechless. Well, it's not exactly speechless, more like he didn't know what to say to the ex-baseball player. Leon chuckled at his little joke to break the silence.
"I got plenty more where that came from! I'll tell ya more next time. Anyway, let's hang out again sometime! Talking to you helps keep my mind off this place…" With a smile on his face and a spring in his step, Leon strolled away, leaving behind TK who was slightly regretting agreeing to Leon's offer earlier.
'I guess Leon likes hanging out with me.'
"He's not the worst person to hang out with," Yolei commented.
"I'm not a fan of the sex talk, though," Mimi said.
"But at least I'm talking to more people outside of Sayaka. That should help with escaping Hope's Peak," TK said.
"But if he doesn't like to practice his ultimate ability, then how much do you think he'll help out?" Matt asked.
