You know shit's getting real when Tanaka appears

26th of April, Akihabara

Hayato messaged Shin today for the tutoring, and since he had free time, he accepted. He knew the way to Hayato's house, but the man still waited around the station to guide Shin.

Shin thought it was unnecessary, and while Hayato did it with good intentions in mind, the only thing it achieved was to fan the flames of the fujoshi back at Shujin.

The tutoring went smoothly. Nanako was an intelligent child, so she picked stuff up quickly. All in all, Shin spent 2 hours there, and he received 20 thousand Yen as payment.

With some time to spare, Shin wandered off through Akihabara. As he was walking, he remembered there was a PC toolset being sold in a machine part shop somewhere on the main street.

It took a lot of walking and many detours, but he managed to reach it. The PC toolset was rather pricey, sitting at 8 thousand Yen, but Shin had more than enough cash on hand.

Afterwards, he hurried to Yongen, as it was getting quite late and Shin wanted to check on the second-hand shop before it closed.

With a broken laptop in one hand and the toolset in the other, Shin headed back to LeBlanc. He was dying to try and fiddle with the device, but Sojiro had him help out around the shop as soon as he stepped foot inside.

"C'mon, put your stuff down and grab an apron. And don't forget about washing your hands."

The work Sojiro put him through didn't exhaust Shin physically, but mentally. Being constantly reminded of the minuscule differences between certain coffee beans was quite annoying.

Nevertheless, he carried on with his business. Fixing the computer didn't take long with his dexterous fingers. Morgana, who was sitting at the desk while he was working, seemed amazed at the insides of the laptop.

"So all computers are made of different pieces that are assembled together. Interesting."

Suddenly, the now-fixed laptop lit up. A middle-aged man with dark grey hair and black sunglasses appeared on the screen.

"Hello! This is Shady Commodities Tanaka! I repeat, I'm Shady Commodities Tanakaaa! Here we sell wonderful and rare items that are not available to the general public! Curious about something? You've got access! Want something? You've got access!"

"What the heck?" shouted Morgana.

He almost jumped off the desk in surprise.

"It just went to that site automatically. Was it configured to do that beforehand? Still... Shady Commodities... It's an online shopping site, I guess." said Morgana, somehow shrugging while in cat form.

"I'll look into it tomorrow."

-INTERMISSION-

27th of April, just outside Shujin Academy

"I got a chance to talk to this girl the other day..."

Shin could overhear some students talking a few meters away from him.

"We had an amazing conversation after I brought up some of the stuff I read about! We're gonna go out somewhere together soon!" said a bland boy.

"Don't get ahead of yourself because it happened to go well. Knowledge isn't enough, you see. You need skill to adapt on the fly. Guts for confession, and being kind wouldn't hurt. And if you also have some charm, all the better. The quality of your character says a lot about you, so it's important to better yourself daily." said his friend.

"Man, that's gonna take some work... But I'll do it, if it means I'll get a girlfriend!"

'Someone's got their priorities straight.' thought Shin.

"I should start by showering every day. I hear girls prefer a hygienic dude."

At that moment, Morgana decided to show his head from Shin's bag.

"That applies to you too."

"Bro, I shower daily and you know it. You're literally sitting there as I wash!"

"Not that part! About improving yourself, I mean."

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

"..."

"Hey, remember that Tanaka guy on the shady shopping site?" asked Shin.

"Yeah. What about him?"

"Well, apparently, he's the president of a mega-corp company, known for his unethical business techniques and cunning sales tactics. Apparently, he changed a lot a few years back. He had donated a large sum to an orphanage or something. He didn't really show on the news ever since, except for the occasional TV broadcast."

"I see. You should be careful when using that site in the future."

"Don't worry."

-INTERMISSION-

Shin thought he didn't hang out with Ryuji lately, so he was heading towards the blond at the moment. Said teen was leaning on one of the walls of the hallways, looking at the passing students.

"Hey, Ryuji." said Shin.

"Yo, what do you think about training a bit? We're gonna get rusty if we don't keep ourselves active, you know? 'Sides, I can't just sit on my ass like this. All this waiting got me really antsy.

"Alright. I'll go get changed."

A few minutes later, the two were standing outside the school building. Cherry leaves were falling all around them.

"Man, this place brings back memories... This is my secret training spot. Er... was. Actually, I've been thinking about running again. Fighting in that other world was a total shock. I couldn't move the way I wanted. It just felt so... lame. So I thought, maybe I need to build up my muscle again. Anything's better than what I have now, right? Not to say I'll be able to help more."

"I see. You better get all buff." said Shin.

"Not THAT much... Anyway, let's get going."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they sprinted around the school. After several laps, Ryuji was barely standing up from exhaustion.

"You alright man?" asked Shin.

"Yeah, I'm just... My legs are all tight..."

After catching his breath, Ryuji said.

"You know, before Kamoshida, the track team was the selling point of this school. But it all changed when he got the old coach fired and took over the team. That bastard just wanted to get rid of us from the beginning. He'd give us these stupid workouts, and when we couldn't finish them, he'd add even more on top of that. Every fucking day, he kept that bullshit."

The blonde placed his hands in his pockets.

"He had something against me especially. He knew I was easily riled up. If my time dropped even a little, he'd cuss me out. And on top of that, he brought up my parents..."

"So, that's why you snapped."

Ryuji rubbed the back of his head in frustration.

"Truth is... my mom's all I got. All my dad did when he was around was drink. Sometimes he'd even beat me or my mom. I don't know how he found out, but that bastard Kamoshida told that to the entire goddamn team... And as you can guess, I just... lost it."

"..."

"That was just what he wanted from the start. He called it an "act of violence" and shut down the track team. Thanks to that, the other guys treat me like I'm some kind of traitor... And they're not wrong. Because of me, they lost their shot at the championship."

The blond paused for a moment, before he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Anyways, that doesn't matter now. It's all in the past. I'm only thinking about the future now! We gotta think positive thoughts, brother!" said Ryuji, lifting his hand for a high-five.

Shin replied in kind.

"C'mon, we're all warmed up already, right? Let's go for another run! By the way, you're pretty good at running, you know? You've been training before?"

"Mmhm. Staying healthy is good. Plus, it's handy for my part-time job."

"You have a part-time job? That reminds me... I heard some weird rumours about you going to Shinjuku." said Ryuji, a frown adorning his face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. The modelling agency is there." replied Shin.

He didn't even need to ask for details. Rumours about him going into an adult district could mean only a handful of things, and none particularly good for his reputation.

"Modelling?"'

"Yeah. I thought I'd put my looks to good use and get paid at the same time."

"..."

"Look, I won't appear in whichever magazine you read anyway. And it'll be fully clothed for the time being. No going topless until I get my abs."

"...Okay."

Afterwards, the two went their separate ways.

Back at LeBlanc, Sojiro had Shin make some coffee for the first time. He seemed satisfied with it, but he also commented there's a lot of room for improvement.

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This chapter's additional info is on... Carmen!

Carmen is a fictive female gypsy created by Prosper Mérimée. She first appeared in Mérimée's eponymous novella that was first written and published in 1845. The novella was adapted into a variety of different genres, most notably the opera Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet which diverges in significant points from Mérimée's original story.

Whatever the version, Carmen is generally depicted as a classic femme fatale who would take advantage of her beauty and charm to make men fall for her, but quickly break the relationship once she is bored of her wooer, and then she looks for her next victim. Carmen is also usually seen smoking tobacco because she had once worked in a tobacco factory. She is later slain by a spurned ex-lover, driven to a jealous rage after she leaves him. Though she knew he would be fated to kill her, she declared that she would rather die than allow herself to be bound to the will of another, and that "Carmen will always be free."

Carmen's dress is deigned to resemble a rose which often represents the femme fatale personality; beautiful, but deadly/dangerous. Also referenced in Ann's quote after an All-Out Attack, "A beautiful rose has thorns!"

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Confidants:

Igor (The Fool) - Rank 2

Morgana (The Magician) - Rank 1

Sojiro Sakura (The Hierophant) - Rank 2

Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) - Rank 2

Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) - Rank 2

Tae Takemi (The Death) - Rank 2

Shiho Suzui (The Hope) - Rank 3