Neglecting Messages

When Aoi arrived at the school a bit early, only a handful of his classmates were present. While he was at it, he opened his phone and saw a lot of messages from Izumi.

He smacked his face, completely forgetting about the idea he was now in the relationship, constant updates should be exchanged between couples. 

What was worse though was Izumi had been messaging him last night and added it all together this morning, there were like fifty messages bombarding his phone. Thankfully, there was no phone call attempt… or should he not be thankful?

Why he had forgotten to check his phone was because he had been cleaning his room – sorting out those games. He could not help but feel sentimental as he had to sell them before to provide expenses for his little sister's room. 

Of course, just like before, he would be selling them now – not that he needed money but for him to bid farewell to his past addictions. 

Aside from games, he also had collections of manga and light novels, too, to which he also had to sell. He put all those aside while placing the academic books on his shelves more, symbolizing the alteration of his life.

He swore to be dedicated to his football and, if possible, to his academics… though he doubted if he would still be able to continue his education if he had to pursue football internationally as early as possible.

When he was finished, he was dead-beat tired, so he instantly fell asleep.

Furthermore, when he woke up, he was not the type of person who would check his phone. If he wanted to know about the time, there was an alarm clock beside his bed placed atop the table.

Hence, checking his phone was only for him to distract himself from boredom.

Which, of course… should be changed now. 

He had Izumi, and the only means of communication if they were far from each other would be by phone, so he had to constantly check his phone so he could instantly reply to Izumi's messages.

Without hesitation, as though the past's over-acting Aoi - only apparent for his little sister of the past - emerged, he bombarded Izumi's messages by apologizing, explaining, and telling her it would not happen again.

When he was finished checking his messages again and again, he exhaled for a long time and closed his phone.

However, he was constantly checking his phone if Izumi replied.

Suddenly, one of his classmates entered the room, and it caught his attention somewhat. 

It was Kaga, briefly giving him an ambiguous glance and then sauntering on his seat, completely forgetting about him.

Aoi did not mind, but he slightly lamented the fact that he could not harvest any Ego Points from him.

Furthermore, if possible, he did not want to offend any of his classmates anymore – just an intuitive decision.

He would not be able to amass such points anyway, though accumulating small ones at a time was beneficial, doing so on the football field was much better. 

If he was on the football field, he could not hold his ego anymore, naturally producing egoistic thoughts and behavior, causing him to obtain ego points.

Acquiring ego points by having to force himself to act egoistically was forceful and rejecting. 

As a result, he decided to act like the usual Aoi for now and would act egoistic once on the football field.

'Speaking of having a different personality in the field and the classroom…'

"Aoi!" 

Just in time, he was thinking of a particular person popping up in his mind, Oka, voice louder than usual that almost shattered his eardrums, entered his view. 

He was still at the door, but with a quick sprint, he arrived before Aoi and cheerfully said, "Good morning! How did your date with Izumi go?"

Kaga, hearing what Oka said, as it also destroyed his ears, instinctually forced him to turn their attention towards them, staring at Aoi with a painful gaze.

It was only an instant as he forcibly and reluctantly pulled his gaze away from them, trying to distract himself.

Meanwhile, Aoi was just staring at Oka silently, continuing what he was thinking earlier.

'This guy is lively as ever, always having that grin on his face, but that moment…'

He recalled the time Oka went into the serious mode, exuding a grave, ominous ambiance. 

He was totally in a serious mode.

'Was that what they were calling the state of Flow? Or Zone in the novels?'

Flow simply meant being completely immersed in a task or activity, just having full concentration on that specific period.

To achieve that state was difficult. Even now, Aoi still does not have a complete picture of what Flow was all about. He might study it later or just directly ask Nakahara later.

"Aoi? What are you dazing about?" 

Oka woke him from his stupor, and Aoi shook his head.

He replied, "I was just reminiscing about my date with Izumi. It went well… not afterward, I guess. But yeah, we are fine… should be." Aoi hesitated to finish his sentence.

Oka was perplexed, tilting his head sideways, and replied, "Well, it should be. It's normal to have a fight with your girlfriend. I advise you to always compromise, though. Don't avoid it."

Aoi grinned.

"Says the one who never had a girlfriend."

Oka was taken aback, growled in exasperation, but then suddenly changed his attitude.

He smirked, "Well, it will not be long before I will get a girlfriend."

"Where did you get that confidence from?"

"I just have it."

Aoi shook his head in resignation.

"Well, good luck with that."

Oka nodded solemnly.

"Thank you. Don't worry, I will not fail anymore."

"Whatever." Aoi shrugged.

He totally lost interest in teasing Oka.

Sensing that the usually indifferent Aoi had returned, Oka was about to pester Aoi with endless questions when Aoi reacted intensely, staring at the door.

He turned towards his back and saw Izumi entering the door while having a furious countenance, feeling the chill crawling on the back of his spine.

He cast a pity glance at Aoi, whose eyes were glued to Izumi, and proceeded to his seat.

Oka could only pray for his brother's well being…