"Pool day!"
"We have pool class twice a week, why are you so excited?"
"Shut up, Yuuji, and come have fun in the pool"
"Wait!"
Splash!
At Risa's excited declaration, which sounded like an anime episode opening, Yuuji wondered about the logic behind it, but Risa simply ignored him and pulled him into the water, making him fall in.
"Seriously?" Yuuji complained.
"It's pool class, you would've had to get in anyway"
"Yeah, sure, there isn't even a teacher" Yuuji replied without even trying to guess why no one was there teaching them and instead they were just playing in the water like they were on vacation.
"Yuuji, come, come"
Before he could keep thinking about it, Lala called him. She wasn't in the pool, but sitting on the edge.
Happy to have an excuse to get away from the overly energetic Risa, Yuuji went over to her.
At that moment, Lala was wearing a normal blue school swimsuit, but her curves, combined with the already tight fabric now wet, made it cling to her body, highlighting her figure even more.
"Lala, aren't you getting in?" Yuuji asked, unable to stop himself from glancing at her a bit more than necessary.
"I went in earlier, but I already got out"
"Why?"
"I wanted to talk to Yuuji" Lala replied, hesitating a little.
"With me?"
"That's right. Even though you said my father left quickly, he still caused you trouble and even made you late, right? I'm sorry for the inconvenience" she said, bowing slightly in apology.
"It's fine. I already told you it wasn't much trouble.
Besides, I wasn't late because of that" Yuuji replied, feeling a bit guilty seeing her apologize so seriously.
"Really?"
"No, I actually wasn't planning to come today at all"
"What? Why?"
"Some situations at the company kept me busy" Yuuji lied shamelessly.
"Situations? Is it something I can help with?"
'Kughh. She really knows how to make me feel guilty' he thought when he saw Lala's worried expression in response to his lie.
"I-it's fine, it's already resolved. If you want to support me, the studio's first work is coming out tomorrow, take a look"
"Of course! I'll buy thousands of copies! What's it called?"
"N-no, that's not necessary, one is enough. It's called Doraemon. Also, it's a kids' manga, so you might not like it. It's about a robot cat from the future who keeps pulling futuristic gadgets out of his pocket, only for everything to end up getting out of control"
"Oh, isn't that just Lala?"
Yuuji turned around, only to be surprised to see a group of five people gathered there, listening attentively. Risa, especially, was way too close and had just spoken.
"What are you doing here? Why don't you go play somewhere else?" Yuuji complained.
"Hey, we're not little kids for you to chase away!" Risa shot back. "Besides, with Yuuji and Lala talking here, it looks like a scene straight out of a manga, of course we had to spy on you"
Next to her, Mio nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with interest.
Ignoring those two for a moment, Yuuji looked at the rest.
"N-no, I heard you talking about Lala's father and got curious. I heard he's really strong, so I wanted to know more" Rito quickly defended himself, distancing himself from Risa's words.
"I saw a lot of people gathered and got curious, I wanted to make sure no rules were being broken" Yui said with a suspicious blush, clearly lying.
"I just followed Rito" Unlike Yui, who looked nervous trying to hide something, and Rito, who always overreacts, Haruna answered honestly without any guilt.
"..." Yuuji looked at them for a second. Despite what they had just said, none of them stepped back, so he could only sigh helplessly. "Fine, at least make sure to support the manga tomorrow"
"Of course! Tell us more about it"
And so, in what was supposed to be a swimming class, one where the teacher never showed up by the way, Yuuji ended up explaining the plot and some stories of Doraemon to the group as promotion, while everyone listened with curiosity.
However, when he finished, for some reason everyone was looking at him strangely.
"What is it?"
"You know, Yuuji, at first I said it as a joke, but... isn't it just you and Lala?" Risa said.
"No" Yuuji replied immediately.
"Yes it is" Mio said, contradicting him. "As a manga expert, I assure you. It's not exactly you and her, but you mixed parts of your personalities into both characters, like Doraemon's inventions, Nobita's laziness, Doraemon's almost familial protective instinct, Nobita's lively personality, and so on"
"That's impossible because..."
'Because I didn't actually think about Doraemon's story, so it's impossible it was influenced by anything' Yuuji wanted to say, but obviously he couldn't say that out loud.
"Anyway, it's not like that, those are personality traits that are way too vague to assume that.
Also, what do you mean manga expert? Wasn't your whole thing being obsessed with the paranormal? Since when are you into manga?"
"What can I say? A girl has her secrets" Mio replied with a wink.
"Don't worry, Yuuji, even if your manga is basically a copy of you and the girl you like in another world, we'll still support it"
"Yeah, it sounds interesting"
"That's right"
"We'll buy it"
"No, you don't get it..." But no one paid attention, and Yuuji could only watch as they ignored him again in helplessness. 'Why does it feel like it always ends like this?' he complained mentally.
[And it will get worse, master]
"What?"
[I detect two powerful alien life forms approaching your location]
"You can detect... no, that doesn't matter, who are they?"
"[They ar...]
"Your Highness!"
"Yuuji Rito"
Before Mona could finish, Yuuji heard two equally dangerous voices.
One was literally a shout that echoed throughout the entire school yard, drawing the attention of all the students, coming from a man with both rugged and noble features who looked extremely rushed.
Zastin.
The other, despite being just a soft and low voice, was just as dangerous, as it sounded right behind him, having approached with stealth and speed until standing beside him without him even noticing.
A petite girl dressed in black with a monotone expression.
Golden Darkness Yami.
As soon as the two saw each other, sparks seemed to fly as their presences clashed, like two thunderous auras colliding in the air, ready to kill each other at any moment.
"Golden Darkness" Zastin said, drawing his sword and pointing it directly at the golden haired girl.
"Zastin, The Unyielding Wall" Yami replied, turning her hair into dozens of blades identical to his and pointing them at him, ready to move.
"Wait" Zastin interrupted before Yami could attack. "We are in the presence of weak humans, I don't want to fight you, just tell me what you're doing here and..."
"Pffft"
Zastin's statement, along with the overwhelming silence covering the entire school yard due to the sudden tension, was interrupted by laughter.
"Hahaha, the Unyielding Wall? You've got to be joking"
Faced with a nickname that sounded straight out of a shonen manga or from someone with severe chuunibyou, Yuuji couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Yuuji Rito, you dare mock me? It seems you've been getting too arrogant lately" Zastin said, trying to sound more serious than usual, but Yuuji didn't buy it.
However, Zastin quickly shook his head and ignored him.
"This is not the time to worry about that"
"Speak" he said, turning his gaze back to Yami.
"I came for Yuuji Rito and Lala"
"For Her Highness? How dare you? And what is that disrespectful way of addressing the princess?" Zastin's anger ignited immediately upon hearing she came for Lala, and, just a little, for Yuuji.
However, faced with his words and outburst, Yami didn't get scared, instead, she frowned in confusion.
"Isn't that right?" she muttered to herself. "Mikan told me that if she's my friend I shouldn't use honorifics. Then... Lala-san?"
"Lala is fine!" Lala shouted, having heard everything from below, just like the rest of the class.
"Friend?" Zastin repeated, looking at Yami and Lala in confusion for a second.
The next moment, he sheathed his sword and his entire attitude changed completely, the killing aura from before disappearing.
"I see, so you are a friend of Her Highness" he said, shifting from a lethal guard to a warm and protective caretaker. "Then please continue getting along, I will not interfere in your matters"
Even though she didn't really understand what had happened, Yami didn't care. She wouldn't fight if she didn't have to. She also retracted her weapons, turning them back into hair, and returned to Yuuji, Lala, and the rest of the group who were still there.
"Yami, it's been a while!" Lala immediately stood up excitedly and hugged her.
"Yes, I came to ask a favor" she said, looking over Lala's shoulder at Yuuji.
"Me?" Yuuji pointed at himself in confusion.
"Yes, last time you solved the problem, so I thought you could do it again this time"
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)