Chapter 13: Saturday Night

Sometimes, it's the mundane things that torture you the most. The first week of the term passed quickly—uneventful, really. Between the usual adjustments and settling in, I tried scouting the school's clubs, only to discover none of them were accepting new members right now. Another thing to shelve for next year, I guess.

Now it was Saturday, the last school day of the week, and like every other day, I was heading home alone.

Walking through the school's front gate toward the station, I caught a glimpse of Akihiko out of the corner of my eye. He was leaving a gaggle of girls who'd been chatting with him. They looked utterly smitten, their eyes still glued to his retreating back. He's that kind of guy—friendly, confident, approachable. The opposite of Mitsuru, and probably me, if I'm honest. After our meeting with the chairman, I hadn't seen much of him. In fact, I hadn't seen much of anyone from the dorm. The place felt deserted most of the time, as if no one actually lived there.

With his usual easygoing smile, Akihiko waved as he fell into step beside me. "Yo," he said. "Heading home early today, huh?"

Oh wow. Really preceptive..

"Yeah," I said with a shrug. "Gave up on asking the clubs if they're taking new members. No point wasting time when I already know the answer."

"Oh, right," he said, nodding. "You're looking for something after school. Well, my club manager mentioned that you were asking around. I could put in a word for you if you're interested. There's gotta be a way to squeeze you in."

"You're in the boxing club, right?"

"Yeah. Keeps my reflexes sharp," he said with a casual shrug. "So? What do you think?"

"I mean, sure," I replied. "Not like I've got a ton of options. Beats wasting my time at the arcade."

"Great. Consider it done. I'll talk to Tokito-senpai when I see her," he said.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I noticed the group of girls still lingering, their gazes locked on Akihiko like moths to a flame.

"Uh, so… are you just gonna follow me all the way back to the dorm?" I asked. "What about them? Leaving them hanging like that?"

Leaning in slightly, he lowered his voice in mock embarrassment. "Honestly? I'm following you to get away from them. They're nice and all, but… sometimes it's just a bit much, y'know?"

Ah, fantastic. I'm the scapegoat.

"Well, since you're already tagging along," I said, deciding to roll with it, "how about we grab a bite? I've been meaning to check out that beef bowl place in the strip mall."

Akihiko's grin widened. "Hey, you don't have to ask me twice."

—

As evening draped itself over the city, Akihiko and I walked back toward the dorm, food bags in hand. The beef bowl shop had been packed—Saturday night rush, of course—so we'd settled for takeout. I grabbed two portions, anticipating a late-night snack, though Akihiko's double order was clearly driven by his ongoing battle to consume every ounce of protein in the universe.

The walk back was quiet, the city's faint hum filling the silence between us. Akihiko wasn't much of a talker during moments like this, which was fine by me. But as we neared the dorm's neighborhood, he suddenly broke the silence.

"You know," he started, his tone reflective, "I was always hoping we'd get a three-man team again. Feels like it's been forever since we had one. And now we have you."

"Three-man team?" I asked, glancing at him. "I'm guessing the guy who left for 'personal reasons' was the third?"

"Yeah," he said with a faint nod, his expression softening with nostalgia. "He didn't leave the city or anything. He's still around… but, well, a lot happened."

"I see." Translation: don't pry. "But if it's been years, you must've been at this for a long time."

"Mitsuru recruited me when we were in middle school," he said. "I couldn't say no. When you've got the power to fight and save people, ignoring the problem isn't an option—not for me, at least. When that friend left, it was just me and Mitsuru. It's been tough, but now that you're here, things are bound to change. Maybe we'll even explore more of the floors this time."

"Floors?" I echoed. "Oh, right. You mentioned something about a tower."

"We call it Tartarus," he explained. "It's basically the Shadows' nest. It only shows up during the Dark Hour."

"Well," I said, smirking slightly, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Your weapon should be ready in a few days," Akihiko added, clenching his fist like a boxer psyching up for a fight. "After that, we're hitting Tartarus. Finally, some progress."

I chuckled softly. His enthusiasm reminded me of how, in the original story, he sometimes treated this whole ordeal like a game. "How do you even manage this?" I asked. "Doesn't it kill your energy, going out at midnight on school nights?"

"You get used to it," he replied with a casual shrug. "And it's not every night, anyway. Otherwise, Mitsuru would execute me."

"Execute?" I curled a brow. "That's a… dramatic word."

He grimaced knowingly. "Oh, it's definitely the right way to describe it."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Well, here's hoping I never find out what that's like."