The following day.
After waking up early and washing up, Akira prepared a delicious breakfast in the kitchen. Once the dishes were neatly arranged on the dining table, he marched over to his uncle's bedroom door.
*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*
"Uncle Nagano, I’m heading out for a bit. Breakfast is ready on the table, remember to eat it while it’s still warm!" Akira shouted toward the inside of the room.
"Hmm... yeah..." Hirokazu Nagano merely responded with a lazy, muffled groan from underneath his blanket, seemingly still half-asleep from his exhausting overtime duty.
Not long after Akira stepped out of the apartment, Nagano’s bedroom door swung open. The middle-aged man was already fully dressed, stepping out with a mischievous smirk locked onto his face.
"Hehe, my nephew usually loves nesting inside his room during his days off. He has never once gone outside this early in the morning. There must be something suspicious going on!" For the sake of putting his late sister's mind at ease, Nagano believed it was his absolute paternal duty to keep a sharp eye on Akira's romantic life. "Haaah... I truly am the best uncle in all of Japan."
Nagano let out a proud sigh, fastened a black mask across his face as a disguise, and quickly slipped out to tail Akira from a safe distance.
On the other side, Akira checked the watch on his phone. Since it was barely 7:00 AM and his meeting time was still a ways off, he discarded the idea of boarding a transit bus and chose to take a casual morning stroll through Chiba instead.
His footsteps eventually guided Akira across a long, sloping hill packed with rows of cherry blossom trees. Because it was currently the peak of the season, the delicate, pastel-pink sakura petals bloomed magnificently on every branch. The gentle morning breeze occasionally shook the twigs, blanketing the entire asphalt slope in a scenic hue of pink.
Akira walked slowly up the terjal hill.
*SWOOSH!*
A sudden gust of wind swept through the path. The branches of the double-lined cherry trees swayed in unison, launching thousands of sakura petals into the night air, creating a breathtaking pink blizzard.
"Oh, my hat!" A sudden panicked shriek from a girl echoed from the crest of the slope.
A white beret was floating high, swept away by the wind, dancing through the air alongside the soft flurry of cherry blossom petals. The hat glided down the atmospheric current, heading directly toward Akira's position.
Akira raised his gaze, staring at the figure of the girl standing at the peak of the hill beneath the cascading petals. He froze for a split second, admiring the visually stunning scene before him that felt remarkably familiar.
However, Akira quickly regained his composure. Utilizing his superhuman physical conditioning, he leapt lightly into the air, clamping his fingers onto the edge of the white beret with high precision. The sudden displacement of air from his jump caused the surrounding vortex of sakura petals to scatter dramatically.
"Waaaah! That was amazing!" A boy wearing glasses who happened to be standing further down the slope spontaneously shouted in pure awe of the acrobatic display.
Kato Megumi, who had been standing at the peak, directly jogged down the slope to approach Akira. Akira dusted off the remaining petals clinging to the fabric of the hat before presenting it back to her. "Here's your hat."
"Thank you very much, Kitahara-kun," Megumi expressed in her signature flat yet gentle tone of voice.
Akira locked a thin smile onto his face. "Don't mention it. We're friends, so there's no need to be formal."
Right at that exact second, the glass-wearing boy who had been spectating from below the landasan suddenly cut into their space. "Um, hello! My name is Aki Tomoya. Nice to meet you, Kitahara-kun, and... um..." Aki Tomoya greeted them with burning enthusiasm, but his tongue instantly froze because he completely failed to recall Megumi's name.
Megumi responded with a perfectly calm, blank stare. "Is there something you need, Aki-kun?"
Akira stared at Aki Tomoya in front of him, feeling a dull ache throbbing in his temples. The teenager before him was a notorious, hard-core otaku famously known throughout Sobu High School for lecturing others regarding the sacred world of 2D. Akira only knew of his existence because he had been caught listening to this guy's dramatic otaku sermons in the corridor a few weeks back.
"My objective for coming here is actually remarkably simple! I intend to establish an independent game creation circle, and I deeply hope that Kitahara-kun and the girl next to you will join as my priority members!" Aki Tomoya directly stated his intentions without an ounce of hesitation.
Akira raised his eyebrows. "A game circle?"
"Exactly! To be more specific, it is a circle dedicated to producing a top-tier *Galgame*!" Tomoya shouted hysterically, his eyes flashing with a passionate gleam.
Megumi tilted her head slightly, utterly confused. "What exactly is... a Galgame?"
"To put it simply, it's a type of dating simulation game where the player has to win the hearts of various beautiful girls through tactical dialogue options and choices," Akira explained, helping to translate the foreign concept for Megumi's benefit.
"Yes! Exactly 100% correct!" Tomoya cheered wildly, bringing his palms together. "I want to invite you both because I just witnessed a legendary, cinematic miracle from below the slope earlier! A beautiful girl and a handsome youth meeting beneath a blizzard of falling sakura petals... a flying beret caught elegantly mid-air... This is practically the absolute perfect prologue for a Galgame masterpiece!"
Tomoya looked as though he had already completely drowned inside his own ocean of delusions.
"I'm going to have to pass," Akira cut in instantly, shattering the otaku's entire barrier of illusions in a split second.
"Why?! On what grounds are you declining?! This is a Galgame, you know! The most sacred and ultimate game genre in the entire universe!" Tomoya shrieked in pure denial, his face twisting in panic.
Akira crossed his arms over his chest. "First of all, I'm already actively registered in another school club. Secondly, I have absolutely zero interest in dating simulation games. Fictional 2D romance has nothing on the beauty of romance in the real world."
Tomoya bit his lip in frustration, turning his frame toward Megumi with a demanding stare. "In that case... what about you, Ka... Kano-san? You’ll definitely join me, right?! Don't worry, I promise I will mold you into the absolute most perfect heroine who can capture everyone's heart in the game later!"
Megumi narrowed her eyes, staring at Tomoya with a rare spark of restrained irritation. "My name is Kato. And I'm sorry, I have absolutely zero interest in joining Aki-kun's club either."
"Eh?! Why?!" Tomoya protested egoistically once more. "Kato-san, you're the type of student who is completely invisible at school. Usually, nobody would ever bother to notice you or want to be friends with you, right? Join me, and I will alter your destiny into a perfect main heroine! I can also help you secure far more friends!"
"I'm sorry, but I genuinely have zero interest in becoming what you refer to as a perfect heroine," Megumi shot back, her tone of voice gradually dropping into absolute freezing territory.
Failing to recall her name at the start of a conversation was already a fatal act of rudeness. Furthermore, Aki Tomoya's absurd level of unearned confidence and his thoughtless, blunt sentences had violently dropped Megumi's impression of him to rock bottom. What did he mean by having no friends or constantly being overlooked? Even if the reality of her paper-thin presence was true, what kind of normal person would shout it directly into someone's face like that?
If this situation had unfolded back when Megumi was still in middle school—where she truly was isolated without a single ally—she might have wavered slightly at Tomoya's pitch. However, everything had shifted completely since she stepped foot into Sobu High School. Currently, Kitahara Akira, Takanashi Rikka, Togashi Yuta, and even Student Council President Shirogane Miyuki were individuals she firmly considered to be her precious close friends.
As for the person who had actively and genuinely paid attention to her since day one... Megumi subtly cast a sideways glance toward Akira standing beside her. 'Having just him alone is more than enough.'
"Kato-san, please reconsider. I am entirely serious—" Tomoya attempted to plead one last time.
"I decline. And to clarify once more, my name is Kato." Megumi’s gaze instantly turned blank and dead cold, indicating her anger threshold had reached its absolute limit. She pivoted her frame toward Akira. "Kitahara-kun, an urgent matter suddenly came up at home. I’ll be taking my leave first."
"Sure, see you tomorrow at school, Kato," Akira replied, waving his hand.
After successfully escaping Aki Tomoya's annoying grasp, Akira checked his phone screen and instantly panicked. The remaining time until his meeting with Yukinoshita was under ten minutes! Without wasting a single second, he unleashed his physical speed to sprint fiercely toward the destination.
***
At exactly 8:05 AM.
Yukinoshita Yukino stood elegantly right in front of the main lobby entrance of Mall XX. Her sharp eyes darted a freezing gaze toward Akira, who had just materialized before her, panting heavily for breath.
"So the pervert enjoys being late, I see."
Akira bent his upper body repeatedly while regulating his ragged breathing. "Sorry! I am so incredibly sorry, Yukinoshita! I accidentally got snagged by a troublesome matter mid-way, that’s why I ended up slightly delayed like this."
Yukinoshita let out a soft snort, turning her back on him. "Let’s head inside now, we don't have time to squander."
Akira quickly took wide strides to align his position with hers. The two marched together into a massive pet supply store located inside the shopping center.
A young female shop assistant stationed near the counter immediately welcomed their arrival with a broad, professional smile. "Welcome to our store! Wow, it's really been a major trend lately, so many young couples deciding to raise a pet together early on."
Yukinoshita abruptly halted her tracks, pointing a finger toward Akira with an expression that was absolute ice. "My apologies, but the perverted man next to me and I are completely not a couple."
"Eh?!" The smile on the assistant's face instantly froze solid from the emotional shock.
Akira, sensing the atmosphere plunge into pure awkwardness, quickly intervened. "Um... it's fine, miss. We'll just browse through the supplies on our own first. If we find what we need, we'll directly call for you."
"Ah... r-right, please feel free..." The assistant backed away awkwardly.
Akira and Yukinoshita began strolling through the store corridors, inspecting the rows of cat cushions and scratching posts lining the shelves.
"Hmm?" Yukinoshita’s steps suddenly came to a halt in front of a specialized display compartment. Her sharp gaze locked intently onto an object.
Akira stopped his own stride, craning his head over curiously. "What's up?"
The object capturing Yukinoshita’s attention turned out to be an interactive toy ball made of specialized rigid resin material, specifically engineered to prevent cats from clawing or ingesting debris when chewed on.
What made the toy truly interesting was that a portrait of Mr. Panda—Yukinoshita’s favorite mascot—was neatly printed across the surface of the ball.
Yukinoshita picked up the bouncing ball from the shelf, examining its design with a lingering spark of interest in her eyes.
"You like it? Then just take it, and the payment will be handled," Akira noted casually.
Yukinoshita knitted her brows, looking slightly hesitant. "But... isn't this an item specifically intended as a cat toy?"
"Who cares who it's made for? At the end of the day, isn't it just a matter of throwing and chasing a ball around?"
Hearing Akira’s casual logic, Yukinoshita’s hands instantly froze. A split second later, her face flushed a vivid crimson as she interpreted the suggestion as something incredibly childish and embarrassing. She snapped a glare directly at Akira.
"To think that someone could suggest such a ridiculous thing so easily... It seems a warning to Yuigahama-san is necessary to ensure she doesn't pick up these strange habits from you!"
"Hey! What on earth is there to misunderstand about a simple ball?!" Akira stared back at Yukinoshita with absolute suspicion. The genuine goodwill to gift a favorite mascot had somehow twisted into a situation where his maturity was being questioned.
Completely ignoring Akira’s defense, Yukinoshita directly spun around, turning her back on him to conceal her sheer embarrassment.
Ultimately, Yukinoshita chose to place the bouncing ball right back onto its original shelf. After all, it would look incredibly bizarre for someone to catch her playing around with a pet toy inside her own residence.