"What? Are you serious?" Ishigami asked as he checked his ears to make sure he was hearing things correctly. "We are, you`re at that age where you need to be able to live on your own without having to rely on us," said Mr. Ishigami. "Are you sure about this? I know I work, but I don`t think I have the means to pay for rent" said Ishigami. "Not to worry, we`ll cover your rent for one entire year, after that you`ll have to pay for rent on your own," said Mrs. Ishigami.

"Well if my parents have reached this decision, I can`t really say anything in response," Ishigami thought. "All right, give me some time to think about this," said Ishigami. "No problem," said Mr. Ishigami as Ishigami excused himself from the table and returned to his room. "I knew this was going to happen at some point, but I didn`t think it would be this early, guess adult life does hit you like a train," Ishigami thought as he was still processing what had just happened.

Moving out, the point in a person`s life when their parents decide, it`s time for you to experience the real world and to go out and live on your own.

For some people moving out is a blessing as it means more freedom, but it also means a lot of responsibilities and definitely more bills to pay. So yeah, it`s not for everyone, you might be eating instant noodles for the first few months to save money, anyone?

Saturday

"Yu, let`s go out, I need to get some groceries for tonight`s dinner and while we`re at it, we`re going to see what apartments are available for you," said Mrs. Ishigami. "Do we have to do it today?" Ishigami asked as he was playing Apex Legends. "Do you want me to turn the power off?" Mrs. Ishigami asked as she wasn`t taking no for an answer. "Alright point taken," said Ishigami as he turned off his gaming system. "So much for video games today," Ishigami thought as he changed his clothes.

"You sure we couldn`t have taken the train?" Ishigami asked as he followed his mother. "Well the trains can get crowded at times, it`s nice to have someone take me around town," said Mrs. Ishigami. "Perfect, so I`m the family chauffeur now," Ishigami thought as it seemed that everyone around him needed a ride. "Is that you Yuriko?" a female asked as she walked up to them. "Ah Akari, it`s been so long, how have you been?" said Mrs. Ishigami as they ran into one of Mrs. Ishigami`s close friends.

"I`ve been good, is that your son?" Akari asked. "Yes, this is Yu, my youngest son, Yu, this is Akari, she used to babysit you when you were younger," said Mrs. Ishigami. "Oh hello," said Ishigami as he bowed back. "You`re all grown up now, I remember when you were this small, what are you up to nowadays?" Akari asked. "Oh I`m a college student at Tokyo University" Ishigami replied. "Oh that`s so great, I would love to talk longer, but I have to meet with my friends," said Akari. "Okay, we should talk more soon," said Mrs. Ishigami as Akari walked away.

"Geez, do you have to tell everyone that I was the Student Council president?" Ishigami asked as Mrs. Ishigami was picking out some vegetables at the market. "Of course I do, all the other moms will be jealous that my son was the Student Council president and attends Tokyo University," said Mrs. Ishigami to which Ishigami sighed. "The power of pride is quite scary," Ishigami thought as they walked out of the supermarket. "Alright, next order of business, let`s go to the real estate office," said Mrs. Ishigami.

Tokyo Real Estate Office

"Hello, welcome to Tokyo Real Estate, how can we help you?" a male asked as Ishigami and his mother walked in. "Ah yes, we`d like to see what apartments are available," said Mrs. Ishigami. "Certainly, right this way," said the male as he led them to an open booth. "We`re looking for an apartment in the Shibuya Ward," said Mrs. Ishigami. "Certainly, here are the available apartments," said the realtor as she showed them the available apartments. "See anything you like?" Mrs. Ishigami asked Ishigami.

"What about this one?" said Ishigami as he pointed at a cheap two-room apartment on the computer screen. "Oh, that one? It`s available although someone else really wanted that room" said the realtor. "Really who?" Ishigami asked as the door opened. "So that`s what happened at the college" Miko said as she walked into the real estate office with her mother.

"Miko? What are you doing here?" Ishigami asked as he pointed at Miko. "I could ask you the same thing," said Miko as she pointed at Ishigami. "Ah, so you two know each other, this is the other client who wants to rent out this apartment," said the realtor. "Someone please put me out of my misery," Ishigami thought.

"So it seems that you both want this apartment," said the agent as the two sat and listened. "Yes, I should get it since I wanted it first," said Miko. "Why do you need a two room apartment anyways? I have more stuff to move in than you" said Ishigami as the two started to bicker. "Now, now, you two, there`s no need to fight over this, this is a two-bedroom apartment right? Why don`t you two share the apartment together?" said Mrs. Iino to which Miko and Ishigami`s jaws nearly hit the ground.

"Mom, you can`t be serious, me live with him?" Miko said in disbelief. "I second that, maybe I should find another apartment instead, it`s one thing to be classmates with someone, but it`s a whole other thing to live with them," said Ishigami. "I think that`s a fine idea," said Mrs. Ishigami. "Oh come on, you too Mom?" Ishigami said in disbelief. "Mom, how could you suggest this?" Miko said to her mother.

"Oh look at you two, you two may be opposites, but I can tell you two care for each other," said Mrs. Iino as she found their bickering to be quite amusing. "Mom!" Miko said in embarrassment. "How is Miko related to her?" Ishigami thought as there was a stark difference between Miko and her mother to which the realtor cleared her throat.

"Alright, it`s settled, you two will be share-renting this apartment, why don`t we go and see the apartment," said the relator as she got up to gather a few things. "This is my worst nightmare," Ishigami thought as he face-palmed himself as they walked out of the office.

"So here`s the kitchen and living room, perfect for two people," said the agent as she showed them around their apartment. "Well at least the place is quite spacious," Ishigami thought as he noticed the vast amounts of space. "Here are the bedrooms," said the realtor as they were shown two spacious bedroom spaces. "I could get used to this," said Miko as the room was quite spacious as it could fit most of her books, a bed, and of course her beloved teddy bear.

"So what do you think of this apartment?" the realtor asked as she finished giving the tour of the apartment. "I think we`re sold on this apartment, what do you two think?" said Mrs. Ishigami. "I like this apartment, not like there are any cheaper ones," said Ishigami. "This location is fine since it`s not too far from college," said Miko as it seemed that both of them liked the apartment. "Perfect, let`s head back to the office to finish up the paperwork," said the realtor as they walked back into the building.

Back at the office

"All right, now that things have been settled, we just need one last thing from you two," said the realtor as she pulled some documents out. "The apartment is great, but I`m still not thrilled I have to share it with Miko of all people," said Ishigami as he stared at the form. "Just shut up and sign the form," said Miko to which Ishigami sighed and reluctantly signed the document. "Alright perfect, you can start the moving process in 2 days' time," said the realtor as she stamped the documents. "Perfect thank you so much," said Mrs. Iino and Mrs. Ishigami. "This is gonna be a fun time," both of them thought as sharing an apartment together was not really something they both wanted.

"I look forward to getting to you know better," said Mrs. Iino as she bowed to Mrs. Ishigami as they were outside of the office following their confirmation of their new apartment. "Likewise, I hope our kids can get along with each other," said Mrs. Ishigami as she bowed back before they walked away following the decision.

"Mom are you sure this is fine? You know I`m rooming with a girl right?" Ishigami asked as they rode down the street. "It`ll be fine, I know you already have Fujiwara, so I`m not too worried about you rooming with a female classmate, the more the merrier as they say" said Mrs. Ishigami to which Ishigami sighed.

Later

"So you ended up finding a place to move into," Mr. Ishigami asked as it was dinnertime. "Yeah, unfortunately, I have to move in with someone I don`t exactly see eye to eye with," said Ishigami. "Lighten up Yu, at least you`re not rooming with a stranger and instead with someone you`ve known for a while, she`s a nice girl," said Mrs. Ishigami. "I think rooming with a stranger would have been better" Ishigami replied. "On the bright side, at least you get to room with a female," said Yuto. "Yeah, thanks for the compliment, this is gonna be a fun time," said Ishigami as he tried to finish the rest of his dinner.

A week later

"You have everything ready?" Mr. Ishigami asked as today was the day Ishigami was moving out. "Yeah I do," said Ishigami as he grabbed his backpack and duffel bag as the rest of his stuff had already been moved over to the apartment. "Stop by here for dinner sometime," said Mrs. Ishigami as she handed Ishigami some bags. "Yeah I`ll try," said Ishigami as he bid his parents goodbye before getting on his bike and leaving the place he called home for many years for now.

"So this is home for me now for the next few years huh?" Ishigami thought as he pulled up to the apartment. "At least it looks kinda nice," said Ishigami as he walked into the building. "I hope at least I`m here first so I can settle in," said Ishigami as he got off the elevator and opened the door to his apartment.

"Oh hey," said Ishigami as he saw Miko already moving some stuff around. "Oh, you`re here," said Miko seeming disinterested with Ishigami`s presence. "Listen, we`re going to be roommates starting now, don`t be such as buzzkill," said Ishigami as he started moving some of his boxes in. " When you`re rooming with someone who`s the complete opposite of you, it`s hard to be happy," said Miko as she moved some boxes. "Whatever, I`m gonna check out my room," said Ishigami as he walked into his room.

"This is my room huh?" Ishigami thought as he saw that most of everything from his old room had been moved here. "Looks about the same except there are no parents around anymore," said Ishigami. "Alright, I`m going relax on my bed for a bit," said Ishigami as he laid back on his bed.

10 minutes later

"What are you doing lying down, we need to clean," said Miko as she entered the room. "What? Can`t that wait until tomorrow?" Ishigami asked as he got up. "Afraid not, get off the bed and help me clean," said Miko as she handed Ishigami a broom. "This woman," Ishigami thought as he knew Miko wasn`t going to let him relax for a little bit.

"Okay, now that we`re done with that, we need to take care of another matter," said Miko as they finished cleaning. "What`s that?" Ishigami asked. "This," said Miko as she pulled out two pieces of paper. "What`s this?" Ishigami asked as he looked at the document. "This is a roommate agreement, this explains what we can do, what we can`t do, and how things are going to be divided between the two of us," said Miko.

Roommate agreements, a contract between two people that prevents one person from having too much power over the apartment which explains the rules of the space that they are sharing, well sometimes things work out and other times it doesn`t. In Ishigami`s case, Miko probably has a lot planned for their roommate agreement.

"You`ve gotta be kidding me, I thought moving in was the main issue, now this?" said Ishigami as he thought getting everything here was the main challenge. "What`s the matter, can`t follow rules now, I can always find a new roommate if you want," said Miko to which Ishigami grit his teeth.

"Well nothing here seems too outrageous, other than having to do the chores, cooking, and splitting utilities," Ishigami thought as he read through the agreement. "All right here," said Ishigami as he handed Miko the signed agreement. "Perfect, I`ll keep this away in case we need it," said Miko as went to put the agreements away as the doorbell rang. "Wonder who that could be," said Ishigami as Miko went to get the door.

"What are you all doing here?" Miko asked as she saw everyone in the group waiting outside with bags of food and refreshments. "What does it look like? We`re here to celebrate you guys moving into a new place" said Rei. "Oh? Why didn`t you guys call?" Ishigami asked. "Well that would ruin the surprise, can we come in?" Hiroshi asked. "Since you`re already here, sure, make sure you take your shoes off," said Ishigami as they let their friends into their new place.

"To our friends moving in, here here," said Rei as she raised her glass. "Cheers," said everyone as they tapped glasses. "Wow, this place is quite nice," said Makoto as he took a sip of his drink. "I second that, my place isn`t even that nice," said Akane. "How much is rent here?" Hiroshi asked. "It`s 115,000 yen split between both of us" Ishigami replied as he took a bite of some pizza. "Do you have enough to pay it monthly?" Suzu asked as she opened a can of soda. "For the time being yes, our parents agreed to pay our rent for our entire freshmen year," said Ishigami. "That`s quite nice of them, wish I had that luxury," said Akane as she had been stuck paying rent on her own.

"This place seems so nice, your parents were cool with you taking their furniture here?" Kobachi asked as she looked around and noticed the furniture in the apartment. "No, my parents bought all this furniture for me, they wanted me to feel as if I was still home, but I think they bought too much," said Miko. "Rooming with Ishigami huh? Planning to make any moves?" Rei asked to which Miko turned red. "What? Of course not, I`m not thinking about him at all" Miko whispered back.

"You sure? Guys can become wolves when they`re rooming with women" said Kobachi. "I`m not worried, Ishigami already has Fujiwara-senpai," said Miko. "Well things can change over time, this could be a good chance for you," said Rei. "I`m going to get something from the kitchen," said Miko as she excused herself. "We know deep down Miko isn`t too upset with rooming with Ishigami, they`re gonna get closer to each other over time" Rei whispered to Kobachi to which the latter nodded in agreement.

"Oh hey, you needed something from the kitchen," Ishigami asked as he grabbed something from one of the shelves. "Listen, since we`re roommates now, you better not get any funny ideas" Miko whispered to Ishigami. "We`ll worry about that later," said Ishigami as they joined their friends.

"Hey, I brought over some Smash Bros for us all to play, who`s down?" Makoto asked as he pulled out a Smash Bros game from his bag. "I`m down, set it up," said Ishigami as the boys stopped eating and headed over to the tv area to play some video games. "So much for some peace and quiet," Miko thought as she watched the boys play Smash Bros while trash-talking each other.

9:00 pm

"They could have at least helped us clean up," said Ishigami as the two of them cleaned up the apartment after everyone else had left. "Well it is late and we have classes tomorrow," said Miko as she wiped the table. "Right," said Ishigami as he threw some trash into a bag. "I`m gonna go take a shower, go throw the trash out," said Miko as she grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom. "Man being an adult kinda sucks," Ishigami thought as he threw the trash bag into the chute outside before coming back in.

"I`m done with the shower, try not to take too long in there," said Miko as she walked out of the bathroom. "Oh okay," said Ishigami as he got up from the couch and walked into the bathroom. "It hasn`t been one full day and I`m already feeling the difference living with a roommate," Ishigami thought as he splashed some water on his face as he tried to relax.

"How can you play video games this late at night?" Miko asked as she looked up from her notebook while Ishigami was playing Apex Legends on the tv. "Why does that concern you?" Ishigami asked. "Did you at least finish all your work for tomorrow? You shouldn`t be slacking off in your classes this early" Miko asked. "Yeah I got it done, I`m fine with my classes so far," said Ishigami. "All right, as long as you`re getting your work done I could care less, I`ll worry about myself," said Miko. "Good, that works for both of us," said Ishigami as he went back to his video game.

11:30 pm

"We should get ready for bed," said Miko as she looked at the clock. "Yeah, I`d rather not fall asleep at the English lecture tomorrow," said Ishigami as he got up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. "Brushing our teeth together, it almost feels like we`re a couple who just moved in together," both of them thought as they brushed their teeth next to each other before they turned red after realizing the situation. "I left something in my room," said Miko as she quickly rinsed before walking out of the bathroom. "Why do I feel like there`s going to be more moments like this with Miko," Ishigami thought as he went back to brushing his teeth.

Foreshadowing?

"Good night," said Ishigami as he yawned. "Good night, try not to oversleep, I`m not going to wake you up," Miko said back as she headed into her room. "Geez, this will take some time to get used to," Ishigami thought as he got into his bed and went to sleep as this was the start of something new for both of them.

Results of Battle: N/A for now

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. With Miko and Ishigami moving in together as roommates, how will things play out? What misadventures will this duo encounter next? Hope everyone had a great New Years, another new year for all of us.

As always feel free to leave a review on what you thought of the chapter. See you all in the next chapter.