62 Chapter 62 I'll make it up to you!

Today was the early morning of the 10th of June, a Tuesday around 06:58 am and Tatsurou, was in the garden of the apartment complex, which was something a bit unusual...

"Alright...one more time..." Tatsurou, that was wearing a black and white tracksuit and had his gauntlet on, said with a determined tone, as he extended his right hand forward.

"Well then...Level 1..." As Tatsurou said this his eyes turned blue and his body became covered in a calm light blue aura.

"A-Alright then...level...2..." Tatsurou said this with a rather nervous tone as he closed his eyes for a bit, but when he opened them, nothing had changed as he still had his light blue aura and by consequence his blue eyes.

"Not this again..." Tatsurou thought a bit depressed, as he let out a sigh and his light blue aura vanished and his blue eyes turned black again.

"I have been at this for 2 hours now...why did nothing happen..." Tatsurou said as he took a seat on the green and recently cut grass of the garden as the gauntlet vanished from his hand.

"What was I even expecting...my powers...my level 2 and beyond are controlled by my emotions..." Tatsurou said while he looked at the cloud filled morning sky, as he let his back fall on the soft grass and his mind filled with the failure of not being able to use the "strength limiter" of the gauntlet to control his powers...

"I know that it's going to be hard to learn to use these powers but...just the thought of having some control over them...not letting my emotions take the better of me...if I have to fight...is something that I would welcome with opened arms..." Tatsurou thought as he kept looking at the sky above him and the sudden memories of his powers having helped him despite not having control over them flooded his mind, it was true that they saved both Shirayuki and Marie, but even so, Tatsurou still disliked them as if was not careful, things could spiral out of control, something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"If only Frida was here to talk to me again..." Tatsurou said with a depressed tone as he closed his eyes, while he let out a sigh but...

"Did you call, Lord Kurokami?" A voice asked this to Tatsurou and upon hearing it, Tatsurou opened his eyes wide, as he quickly got into a sitting position.

"F-Frida-san?!" Tatsurou asked as he looked to all sides trying to find Frida that was nowhere to be found.

"D-Don't tell me...that I'm starting to hear things now..." Tatsurou said with a faintly joking tone as he sighed a bit, but it didn't last long...

"No, you're not hearing things, Lord Kurokami..." Frida said with a faintly embarrassed tone.

"Again? Frida-san, where are you?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he looked to all sides again.

"I'm here...in your right hand..." As Frida said this Tatsurou looked at his right hand and the symbol that, Frida had drawn the last time she and Tatsurou talked appeared on the back of his hand.

"Good morning, Lord Kurokami...it's a pleasure to talk to you, once more!" Frida said with a happy tone as the symbol in Tatsurou's hand glowed a bit.

"M-Morning, Frida-san..." Tatsurou said with a surprised tone as he looked at his hand.

"Is something wrong?" Frida asked with a curious tone.

"Well, nothing's wrong in particular...I just thought that you would show up like usual, to be honest, I didn't expect this at all..." Tatsurou said as he laughed a bit.

"Oh, I am very sorry, but I forgot to tell you that from now on when we need to talk it will be thanks to this symbol I made..." Frida said with an apologetic and embarrassed tone.

"Don't worry it's ok...so that means you won't show up again like the other day, Frida-san?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious as he tilted his head.

"Not precisely, Lord Kurokami...to talk with you just like the other day, takes a lot of magic and can only be achieved in days or nights of full or half moon where there's a magic overflow in the Mioji, if not, then this is the only way we can communicate..." Frida said with an informative tone.

"I see...but that's a real shame since you can't show up whenever you want there's no way to reward you after helping me out..." Tatsurou said with a faint sad tone as he sighed.

"T-There's no need to reward me, Lord Kurokami! Just knowing that I was of help, is more than enough for me..." Frida said with an embarrassed tone and it felt as the symbol was blushing for a brief moment.

"Come on, if you help you have to be rewarded, so when there's a full or half moon I want you to show up so I can give you something, alright?" Tatsurou said with a happy tone as he tilted his head a bit.

"O-Ok...but for now since you called, what can I help you with today, Lord Kurokami?" Frida asked with a curious tone as she tried to change the subject a bit.

"Oh right...well, I don't know if you were watching, but I'm having problems using that "Strenght limiter" ability you told me about the other day..." Tatsurou said as he scratched the back of his head a bit.

"I see, I see...I was sleeping, so I didn't notice...please do forgive me for that..." Frida said with an apologetic tone.

"It's ok..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he smiled.

"Well then, to answer your question of how the "Strenght limiter" I first have to know, if you made a magic circle to accompany it?" Frida asked with a curious tone.

"If I made a magic circle?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he tilted his head.

"Yes, Lord Kurokami, to use some of the abilities of the gauntlet, you have to create a magic circle that will, in turn, activate the ability in question, or in some other cases you have to create an enchantment to activate them, while others are continuous with their effects..." Frida said with an informative tone.

"I see, there's a lot more to it than I thought...so that means I have to create a magic circle to use the "Strenght limiter" but how do you make that?" Tatsurou asked as he tilted his head a bit.

"To create one, usually just imagining would be enough, but in this particular case, I would advise you to draw one on paper to have a clear image of what you intend to have as a magic circle, to then use it with conformity with the ability in question..." Frida said again with an informative tone.

"I think I get...more or less..." Tatsurou said as he let out a small sigh.

"I'm sorry that I can't explain it any better...but if you don't mind me asking, why do you want to learn how to use this ability first in particular, Lord Kurokami?" Frida asked with a curious tone.

"Why I want to learn how to use this ability first? Well, if what you said about following me around whenever I went, then you know...how my powers get a bit out of control during a fight, right?" Tatsurou asked as he looked a bit away.

"I do...but if you would allow me, I don't think that you were too out of control during the fight with the "woman with red hair" or "the man with the sword" and you were able to keep yourself under control during the last fight with that "hat-wearing boy"..." Frida said in a reassuring tone, as she remembered the fights Tatsurou was in.

"You might be right but...I was barely controlling it...it was as if I was pulling on a very worn out rope that could break at any moment if I didn't concentrate and kept holding myself back...that's why I want to learn this one first so that I can keep control over these powers and keep them at bay and only resort to more if needed...but mostly I just don't want them or anyone to see me like that ever again..." Tatsurou said as he looked a bit down, as he remembered just how he showed a small side of him to both Shirayuki and Marie, that he never wanted them to see.

"I understand, Lord Kurokami, then I'll do my utmost to help you learning this ability first so that you don't have to show that side to the two girls you fancy..." Frida said with a determined tone, after a small silence.

"Thank you, Frida-san this means a lot to me...hold on a second! What do you mean with that?!" Tatsurou said with a very embarrassed tone as he got up from the ground, upon realizing the "girls you fancy" part.

"I'm sorry, Lord Kurokami, but when you said "I just don't want them to see me like that ever again..." I thought that you were talking about the two girls that live with you, or am I wrong?" Frida asked with a curious tone.

"W-Well...I mean...you're not wrong...but well, how do I even put it..." Tatsurou said again with a very embarrassed tone as he looked to all sides.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about the fact of wanting to get better and stronger for the people you like, Lord Kurokami! To be frank, I do believe that it is something to be praised and proud about!" Frida said with an honest and reassuring tone and for a brief moment, it felt as if Tatsurou could see Frida smile as he looked at his hand.

"Thanks, Frida-san...but you see this is still kind of embarrassing...especially admitting that I'm doing this, not just for me but also for Shirayuki and Marie..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone as he sighed.

"I understand and even so I'll say it again, it's not something to be embarrassed about and I do believe that Lady Shirayuki and Lady Marie would be happy to know about this!" Frida said with a reassuring tone, that made Tatsurou blush.

"I don't know about that...but for now let's just concentrate on learning this ability...then will think about the telling part...but for now I have to go and get ready for school..." Tatsurou said a bit embarrassed as he looked a bit away from Frida.

"Surely and I'm glad to be of help! You just have to call and I'll try to come as fast as I can, I promise!" Frida said with a happy and determined tone.

"Ok...but please try not to scare me next time..." Tatsurou said with a joking tone as he smiled.

"I-I'll try to get better at that..." Frida said with a faintly embarrassed tone as she laughed a bit and with that the symbol on Tatsurou's hand vanished and he was once again alone.

"God...even Frida noticed...but well she is attached to me and follows me around, she was bound to know how I feel towards them..." Tatsurou thought as he let out a sigh.

"Well, thinking too much about it won't solve anything...so I better think about how to make a magic circle before anything else...maybe I should ask Shirayuki or Marie...perhaps even Yumeko could help me with this too..." Tatsurou said while he turned to the stairs to his apartment.

"I can't forget to call Hime and tell her that our telephone broke down the other day...but now that I think about it...I should try to buy a phone for Shirayuki...having to call Wise every time to tell Shirayuki I'm going to be home late, isn't the best of ideas since Wise asks too many questions...I'll have to go around a few stores to check some prices...but wait...wouldn't it be weird to give her a phone just like that?" Tatsurou thought a bit embarrassed as he made his way towards his apartment...

And so, the hours would pass...

Now, we were in District 4's public Esper school, around 16:00 pm, so that meant that classes were over for the day and students could finally go home and both Tatsurou and Marie were in the process of doing that as they walked along the sidewalk towards their home...

"Just my luck..." Tatsurou, that was wearing his gakuran with a hoodie under it, said as he let out a sigh.

"I can't believe that Yumeko ignored me all day long...I'll really have to talk with her and solve this misunderstanding..." Tatsurou thought again as he sighed and remembered how Yumeko gave him both the cold shoulder and the death stare, before, during, and after classes for what happened yesterday in the teacher's office.

"Are you ok, Tatsurou?" Marie, that was wearing her sailor fuku and nun's habit, asked with a worried tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.

"Hmm? I'm ok...it's just that Yumeko is kind of ignoring me..." Tatsurou said with a faint depressed tone, as he laughed a bit.

"I noticed...it's because you ran away from her yesterday, right?" Marie asked again as she tilted her head and remembered how she and Tatsurou had to run away from Yumeko's magic "hands".

"Y-Yes..." Tatsurou said with a faintly embarrassed tone as the reason for Yumeko being angry wasn't just because he "ran" away from her.

"You should talk with Kuroiwa-sensei soon then...her glare is a bit scary..." Marie said with a worried and scared tone, while she trembled and remembered Yumeko's piercing glare towards Tatsurou.

"I'll try to talk with her tomorrow...and I have to agree Yumeko's "death stare" is one to be reckoned with, but she can never defeat my mother's..." Tatsurou said as he laughed a bit nervously.

"Well, I do believe that there's no more scary look than the one of an angry mother...mine would look pretty scary too when she got angry...but in the end, it happens because they care and worry, don't you think so?" Marie said as she also laughed a bit.

"Well, with that I have to agree..." Tatsurou said with an honest tone as he also laughed a bit.

"Say, Marie, mind if I ask you something?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he looked at Marie.

"Sure, what is it?" Marie asked as she tilted her head a bit.

"If it isn't too much trouble...can you tell me how to make a magic circle?" Tatsurou asked a bit embarrassed as he looked a bit away from Marie.

"Teaching you, how to make a magic circle? I don't mind, but might I know why?" Marie asked again with a curious tone as she moved her hand a bit.

"Well...you see, to use one of the abilities of the gauntlet, I need to make a magic circle for it...but as you can guess, I'm not very in the know, when it comes to magic..." Tatsurou said still with an embarrassed tone, as he blushed.

"No need to be embarrassed Tatsurou, it's only normal and I don't mind helping!" Marie said with a reassuring tone as she smiled.

"Well then, let's see...to create a magic circle, you have to usually draw it on a piece of paper, a simple A4 paper, and a pencil is more than enough and then you have to take into account for what the circle is used..." Marie said as she made a small pause.

"For example, is it to cast a spell? Then you have to draw it and memorize it, then drawing it before casting, said spell...is it to give an ability to a weapon? Then you have to draw the circle then place the weapon on it, like that the weapon will memorize the circle and then you will be able to use it without drawing or enchantments! At least this is the way I learned it in Lourdes..." Marie said with an informative tone to Tatsurou, that nodded as he heard her.

"I see...but do I need to take something else into account? Something extra that needs to be added to the circle?" Tatsurou asked as he rubbed his chin a bit.

"Hmm...well other than this, you should place some words around the circle...a bit like a saying of sorts and also a symbol in its middle to help reinforce what it is supposed to do..." Marie said as she placed her index finger on her cheek.

"I think I'm starting to understand...sort off..." Tatsurou said as he scratched his head a bit.

"Well, that's the way I learned it, but to be fair there are lots of ways, it depends on the person and Magic organization or association they belong to, but to be fair it's all is mostly the same, with some changes here and there..." Marie said with a informative tone, as she smiled.

"I see...just like how Shirayuki uses enchantments or writes kanji's to use her magic instead of magic circles...but just asking, Marie, if it is that simple to make a magic circle, isn't it a bit dangerous to teach it to children?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious.

"Not really, to be able to use it, one must have some kind of affinity with magic or learn it early on, so there's nothing to worry about children using it!" Marie said again with a reassuring tone as she gave Tatsurou a thumbs up.

As it was true, although magic circles, enchantments, or talismans were one of the easiest ways people could use magic, there were some restrictions to them, for example only premade magic circles, enchantments, or talismans made by people with an affinity for magic could be used by people with no affinity or to use them one had to study magic for various years, to use self-made ones.

"That's a relief..." Tatsurou said a bit relieved as he sighed.

"I second that...is there anything else you want to know?" Marie asked as she smiled towards Tatsurou.

"For now that's all...thanks for your help Marie, is there a way for me to compensate you for this?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he looked at Marie.

"Not really, you already went to the book store with me yesterday...but since your offering, there's one thing I would like..." Marie said as she briefly blushed.

"What is it?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious.

"Well...you don't mind that I hold your arm again...do you?" Marie asked a bit embarrassed as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou.

"H-Holding my arm, again?" Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone as he blushed.

"If you don't want to, it's alright...but did you know that in ancient times usually, men would escort women by letting them hold his arm?" Marie said as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou.

"R-Really?" Tatsurou asked both curious and embarrassed.

"Yes! It was a sign of being a gentleman! And also it won't be for too long just until we reach the last corner before the apartment complex!" Marie said with a happy tone as she raised her index finger a bit and smiled.

"I-It's a sign of a gentleman...I see...I did hear it once from Emma I believe..." Tatsurou thought as he placed his hand in front of his mouth as he pondered a bit if he should lend his arm to Marie, but he then remembered how happy she was the other day, so the answer was pretty obvious for him.

"Well...if that's the case then..it's ok..." Tatsurou said as he adjusted his left arm a bit and in a blink of an eye, Marie warped her hands around it.

"Thank you, Tatsurou!" Marie said with a happy tone as she smiled.

"I'm holding Tatsurou's arm again! I'm so sorry again Shirayuki...but worry not, once we get home our plan is going to be set in motion!" Marie thought as she happily held Tatsurou's arm.

"It's a bit embarrassing, I won't lie...but Marie is happy and that's more than enough for me..." Tatsurou thought as he looked at Marie and a smile appeared on her face as they made their way home...

And meanwhile, in Tatsurou's apartment, Shirayuki was in the process of finishing making her and Marie's bed...

"Done and ready for later!" Shirayuki, that was wearing her usual Shrine maiden clothes, said with a happy tone, as she pushed the blanket and finished making the bed, she then looked at it for a bit in silence.

"Is Marie's plan...really going to work..." Shirayuki said as she began to remember what happened last night in their room around 21:50 pm...

"Marie! Our Dorama is about to start, come quickly...!" Shirayuki that was wearing her usual long pink nightgown said with a happy tone, as she opened the door and entered her and Marie's room, only to be greeted by Marie, that was on the ground kneeling and bowing as her head touched the floor and so a long silence followed.

"M-Marie!? What's wrong?!" Shirayuki asked with a very worried tone as she looked at Marie that didn't move a bit.

"I'm really sorry, Shirayuki, please forgive me!!" Marie, that was wearing her usual tank top and shorts, said with an apologetic tone as she kept kneeling.

"I'm not sure I follow, what's going on here Marie..." Shirayuki said with a confused tone as she looked at Marie, that slowly raised her head.

"Well...Shirayuki...you see..." As Marie said this she began telling Shirayuki what she asked Tatsurou, when they got out of the hospital...

"...And that's all that happened, so please forgive me, Shirayuki!" Marie, that was now sitting on the bed said to Shirayuki as she bowed once again.

"Don't worry Marie...I'm not angry..." Shirayuki, that was also sitting on the bed, said this with a faint angry tone while she pouted and showed her back to Marie.

"S-Shirayuki...it's a bit hard to believe you, with that setup..." Marie said with a worried tone as she looked at Shirayuki.

"Ok, I'm a bit angry, Marie...but to be honest I'm mostly jealous...I...I also want to do those "couple-ish" things with Tatsurou..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, as she looked at Marie and her ahoge wiggled around.

"I know and I'm sorry for getting ahead of yourself Shirayuki, that is why I came up with a plan to make it up for it!" Marie said with a determined tone as she smiled.

"Y-You did?" Shirayuki asked both curious and surprised.

"But of course! I also want you to get some couple-ish moments with Tatsurou, not just me, it would go against our agreement, would it not?" Marie asked as she gave a wink to Shirayuki that blushed.

"Thanks Marie...but will it work?" Shirayuki asked with an embarrassed and curious tone as she tilted her head.

"Fufu...of course it will! If you do this you'll be holding Tatsurou's arm too in no time!" Marie said with a very happy and determined tone as she held Shirayuki's hands.

"Now then, Shirayuki here's my plan..." Marie said with an excited tone as she began explaining to a very concentrated Shirayuki her "plan"...

And with that, the remembering of what happened yesterday night came to an end, as Shirayuki entered the living room.

"I still have my doubts...but if Marie says that it's going to work, then I believe her! And speaking of which they're almost here..." Shirayuki said as she looked at the watch on the wall of the living room and the sound of the front door opening was heard.

"Were home!" Tatsurou and Marie said as they entered the apartment.

"Welcome back you two! How was school?" Shirayuki asked with a happy tone, as she went to greet Tatsurou and Marie at the door.

"Not bad...but could have gone better..." Tatsurou said with a depressed tone, as he let out a sigh.

"Did something bad happen?" Shirayuki asked with a worried tone as she tilted her head.

"It's a bit of a long story...but for now let's go and start our cooking lessons Shirayuki!" Marie said as she gently grabbed Shirayuki's hand and made their way to the kitchen.

"You're ready for this, Shirayuki?" Marie asked with a curious tone as she entered the kitchen and looked at Shirayuki that put on a determined face, as she nodded.

"I'm happy to see that Marie's hard at work with the cooking..." As Tatsurou said this he made his way to the living room and just as he was about to place his school bag down, he was interrupted by Marie's voice.

"Oh no!" Marie said with a worried tone, that made Tatsurou dash to the kitchen.

"Are you two alright?!" Tatsurou asked with a worried tone, as he entered the kitchen.

"Hmm? Yes were alright! It's just that we're missing an ingredient for our cooking class..." Marie said with an apologetic tone, as she placed her hands together.

"Y-Yes...we can't make stew without potatoes, can we? And sorry for having worried you, Tatsurou..." Shirayuki said with a nervous tone, as she raised her index finger a bit.

"You don't need to say sorry, Shirayuki, it's ok..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he got close to Shirayuki and head patted her.

"So with that said, why don't you go buy some potatoes from the grocery store with Shirayuki, Tatsurou?" Marie asked with a curious tone, as she raised her index finger a bit.

"I don't mind going, but don't you want to come with us too, Marie?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he stooped head patting Shirayuki.

"Me? Don't worry, I'll just stay here and prepare some of the ingredients while I wait for you two to come back!" Marie said with a reassuring tone as she smiled.

"Ok then...let's go Shirayuki the faster we go, the faster we can come back!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he looked at Shirayuki and smiled.

"Y-Yes! Let's do that...Marie, please be careful, preparing the other ingredients, ok?" Shirayuki said as she began to make her way out of the kitchen, as she followed Tatsurou.

"I'll be careful, don't worry!" Marie said as she waved at Shirayuki and gave her a wink to which Shirayuki responded with a nod.

"Go get him, Shirayuki!" Marie thought with a smile on her face, as she saw Tatsurou and Shirayuki taking their leave...

And so, Tatsurou and Shirayuki were now on their way to the grocery store, walking side by side...

"This takes me a bit back..." Tatsurou said with a happy tone as he looked at Shirayuki.

"It really does! Reminds me of the first time we went grocery shopping together!" Shirayuki said also with a happy tone as she smiled.

"It was pretty funny when you entered the store and were all excited looking everywhere..." Tatsurou said as he laughed a bit.

"C-Come on, Tatsurou it was my first time in one! Of course, I would be a bit excited!" Shirayuki said as she pouted a bit.

"I know...but it was still funny!" Tatsurou said as he, gently head patted Shirayuki for a bit, but it was at that moment that Tatsurou and Shirayuki arrived at a crosswalk that had the traffic light, that was red for pedestrians.

"Looks like we have to wait a bit..." Tatsurou said as he stooped head patting Shirayuki and placed his hands in his hoodie's pocket, as he looked at the traffic light and for a moment Shirayuki looked at Tatsurou, with a nervous expression on.

"T-This is it...I...I can do it..." Shirayuki thought as she slowly went for Tatsurou's right arm, something she hesitated a bit, before finally warping her left hand around Tatsurou's arm...

"Heh?" Tatsurou thought as he froze up and blushed, upon seeing that Shirayuki had grabbed his arm without any kind of warning.

"S-Shirayuki....is something wrong?" Tatsurou asked with a very nervous and embarrassed tone as he looked at Shirayuki, that was also blushing quite badly.

"W-Well...it's very dangerous to cross the street, right Tatsurou? So when I go out with Marie, I usually hold her arm just like this...it's much safer, isn't?" Shirayuki said also with a very embarrassed tone as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou as this was the "plan" Marie came up with, for Shirayuki to hold Tatsurou's arm, all she had to do was to go out and grab his arm when they arrived at a crosswalk, it was simple, yes, but it was working, sort of...

"T-There's no way, Tatsurou will believe me...but his arm is so soft and warm...I don't want to let go..." Shirayuki thought as she kept blushing.

"I...see...your right...crossing the street is a bit dangerous..." Tatsurou said again with an embarrassed and nervous tone as he laughed a bit, while looking away and back to Shirayuki.

"I don't know what's happening and for all that I know this could be a dream...and if it is one please don't wake me up!" Tatsurou thought as he looked at Shirayuki once more, but it was also at that moment that the light turned green.

"L-Let's go..." Tatsurou said as he began crossing the street while Shirayuki held his arm a bit tight and so a few seconds later, they arrived at the other side.

"W-We finally crossed the street...but now Shirayuki will let go of my arm..." Tatsurou thought a bit depressed as he looked at Shirayuki, that now held his arm even tighter.

"W-Well, Tatsurou, there's another crosswalk up ahead...so...might as well stay like this right?" Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone as she looked away from Tatsurou.

"N-No way...Shirayuki...wants to walk like this?!" Tatsurou thought both happy and panicked as he looked at Shirayuki.

"A-And after all...it's a gentleman's job to escort a lady, right?" Shirayuki said as she blushed from toe to head.

"I can't believe...I just said that...but I really want to stay like this just a bit more!" Shirayuki thought as she remembered that this was another thing Marie told her to say to Tatsurou to hold his arm a bit longer.

"Y-Yeah, that's true..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone as he looked forward.

"This is the second time I hear this escort thing...but, Shirayuki looks so happy and she's right a gentleman should escort a lady!" Tatsurou thought as he put on a determined face and regained his composure.

"L-Let's go then!" Tatsurou said as he looked forward and began walking with Shirayuki holding his arm, while both of them had a smile on they're faces, but as they did that, they caught the attention of people that passed them that said things like "cute" and "kids act fast nowadays", something that made them even more embarrassed, so much so, that Tatsurou and Shirayuki, crossed the street again, went inside the groceries store, bought the potatoes, came out and made they're way back home, all while Shirayuki kept holding Tatsurou's arm...

And now, after all that, they stood in front of the apartment's door...

"We arrived..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone, as he looked at Shirayuki that was holding a bag with the potatoes.

"Y-Yes we have..." Shirayuki said also with an embarrassed tone as she looked at Tatsurou and for a moment there was a long silence between them as they wanted this to last, just a bit longer...

"T-Thanks...for escorting me, Tatsurou..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone as she stooped holding Tatsurou's arm.

"You don't need to thank me..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he smiled.

"Tatsurou...is it ok...if I hold your arm like this when we go out again?" Shirayuki asked a bit embarrassed as she looked at Tatsurou then away.

"I mean...when crossing the street and things like that...but only if you're ok with it..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, while she blushed.

"I don't mind doing that Shirayuki!" Tatsurou said with a calm reassuring tone as he head patted Shirayuki, but on the inside, his happiness couldn't even be described.

"With that said how about, we go inside?" Tatsurou asked as he stooped head patting Shirayuki.

"Sure..." Shirayuki said as she looked at Tatsurou opening the door and when they got inside...

"Welcome back you two! How was the trip to the store?" Marie asked with a very happy tone as she came to greet Tatsurou and Shirayuki at the door.

"It was good!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, as she looked at Marie and smiled.

"Yes...it was..." Tatsurou said with a faintly embarrassed tone as he scratched the back of his head a bit.

"That's good to hear!" Marie said as she also smiled.

"Well now, if you two don't mind I have something to take care of...so I'll go to my room for now..." Tatsurou said as he made his way to his room.

"Sure, go on ahead, and thanks for accompanying me to the store!" Shirayuki said as she looked at Tatsurou that gave her thumbs up as he made his way towards his room and when he was finally gone.

"Shi-ra-yu-ki!" Marie said with a happy tone as she hugged Shirayuki.

"Tell me, tell me, how was it?" Marie asked with a curious tone as she looked at Shirayuki.

"To be honest...it was a bit embarrassing at first...but it was so good...Tatsurou walked slowly but evenly and holding his arm was so nice! It felt as if I was hugging Amaya-chan!" Shirayuki said with a very happy tone, as she compared the feeling of holding Tatsurou's arm with that of holding her wolf plushie.

"I know right? It's so soft and warm, its simply the best, no way around it!" Marie said with a very happy tone, as she also smiled.

"And Tatsurou also said that it was ok for to hold his arm again when we went out!" Shirayuki said again with a happy tone.

"Really? Your so lucky Shirayuki...while you can hold it when you go out, I'll have to use my escort excuse...oh, that is if you don't mind..." Marie said a bit embarrassed as she fidgeted a bit.

"Of course it's fine! There's no way I would want to deprive you of something as good as this, Marie!" Shirayuki said with a happy and reassuring tone as she looked at Marie that hugged her again.

"Shirayuki! I love you so much!" Marie said as she kept hugging Shirayuki.

"I love you too, Marie!" Shirayuki said as she also hugged Marie a position they would be in for a while...

Meanwhile, in Tatsurou's room...

"I...I can't believe that Shirayuki just held my arm!!!" Tatsurou said with a happy and embarrassed tone, as he jumped on to the bed with his back.

"God! It was so embarrassing, but it was so good! The way she held it so tightly...let's just give a "cheer" for the person that created the "gentleman has to escort a lady by lending an arm" thing! I just hope my arm wasn't too stiff or hard when Shirayuki held it..." Tatsurou said again with a happy tone as he rolled around the bed, but it didn't last long as Tatsurou stooped rolling and began squeezing his right arm, but then Tatsurou just looked at the ceiling for a bit.

"What am I so happy for? Shirayuki and Marie...they didn't mean anything by it, right? There's no way, this meant anything, it's just an act of being polite and a gentleman, there's nothing else to it... " Tatsurou thought as he got into a sitting position and looked at his right hand.

"But even so, I was so happy...and I became even more, as I saw how Shirayuki and Marie smiled...I know...that they would never smile like that if they saw me on my worse...on my "level 4"...but that's why I'm going to learn how to use that strength limiter...so that they never need to see that "monster" and that they always smile, just like today..." Tatsurou said with a determined tone as he looked at his hand and clenched it hard, but he was brought back from his thoughts by the sound of his phone ringing...

"J-Just who could it be?" Tatsurou said as he took his phone out and saw that it was an unknown caller on its screen and for a bit Tatsurou just looked at it until he pressed the call button.

"Yes?" Tatsurou asked as he placed the phone close to his ear, but he only got silence.

"Is it one of those...scam calls?" Tatsurou said as he briefly looked at his phone but suddenly someone finally spoke.

"W-Who are you calling a scam call!!" The voice from the other side of the phone said with an angry tone that Tatsurou recognized instantly.

"Izumi?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone.

"Yes, it's me..." As Naoki said this she was interrupted by another voice.

"I'm also here, Kurokami-kun!" This cheerful voice belonged to Miyubi.

"Oh! Hello to you too, Shimaki-san!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone as he smiled.

"C-Come on, Miyu! Don't butt in like that...ahem, sorry to call you so suddenly Kurokami...I'm not bothering am I?" Naoki asked with a nervous and curious tone.

"Not really..." Tatsurou said as he scratched his head a bit.

"I see...then you know why I'm calling, right?" Naoki asked with a curious tone.

"Yumeko told me about it, it's to plan a meeting spot for us three to go to the Soteria Headquarters, right?" Tatsurou asked as he tilted his head.

"Yes, I was thinking if you could meet up with Miyu and me in Misaiko...since the Soteria headquarters are pretty close to it...but if you want to meet up somewhere else that's fine..." Naoki said with a faintly embarrassed tone.

"Misaiko? Sure, we can meet there, after classes...let's say we meet up in the front gate around 16:15 pm?" Tatsurou asked as he scratched his cheek a bit.

"Y-Yes, let's meet in front of the main gate, around 16:15 pm, sounds good to me..." Naoki said with a happy tone.

"Ok it's settled then...by the way, are you and Shimaki-san alright?" Tatsurou asked with a curious but also worried tone.

"You don't need to ask all worried like that, we're both alright and back for action!" Naoki said with a reassuring tone as she sighed.

"Yup, Nao-chan said it, were both a-ok, Kurokami-kun, no need to worry!" Miyubi said also with a reassuring tone.

"I see..." Tatsurou said with a happy tone as he smiled.

"Oh and by the way Kurokami, you better show up with your best uniform and behavior tomorrow! After all, we're gonna meet the captain of the Soteria of District 4!" Naoki said with a faintly angry and nervous tone.

"You sound just like Yumeko right now, Izumi..." Tatsurou said with a joking tone as he sighed.

"S-Shut up..." Naoki said with a very embarrassed tone that felt like Tatsurou's phone briefly blushed.

"Don't worry, I have already been warned and I'll show up with my best behavior..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he sighed.

"G-Good...then we'll see each other tomorrow...and sorry for bothering..." Naoki said with an embarrassed tone that slowly turned into a happy one.

"See ya tomorrow, Kurokami-kun!" Miyubi said also with a happy tone.

"Don't worry you're not bothering...and see you two tomorrow then..." Tatsurou said as he slowly moved the phone away from his ear and turned the call off.

"Looks like I'll have to dress up nicely for tomorrow, huh? Just what should I wear..." Tatsurou said as he let out a sigh and thought of what he should wear for tomorrow.

"Well, I think that I'll use that brand new hoodie Hime gave me, before going to Japan and I'll iron my gakuran to perfection...but before that, let's save Naoki's number..." Tatsurou said as he looked at his phone and prepared to save Naoki's number...