Friday, 05/31/XX
I fidgeted with my backpack straps while waiting for Kouji. I had a feeling he might’ve stood me up, which I honestly expected. He thinks I like him and he probably doesn't like men. Even if this was a fake confession, the thought of people knowing I’m gay makes me want to disappear into thin air.
I glanced up and saw him standing in front of me. When Kouji arrived, his nervous demeanor only added to my own jitters.
“Sorry if you were waiting long.” His voice was subtly unstable.
“It's alright, I got here a few minutes ago.”
He had his hands in his jacket pockets, staring in the distance. “What is it you wanted to talk about?” The sound of his foot fidgeting on the grass filled the awkward silence.
I inhaled, preparing myself. “Are you free this weekend?”
It looked as if I sucked his soul right out of him. “I'm, um,” he bit his lip, a nervous habit of his I noticed. “I don't have anything.” His freckled-face flushed brightly as he murmured, “Are you asking me out?”
I grabbed onto his hand. “Is that a yes?”
He flinched and gasped. His hand started to tremble. Poor guy looked like he was ready to bolt. “I– um, yes, I can.”
I bit my cheek, forcing down my nervous laughter, feeling bad for deceiving him. Now that I got a better look at him, he could be my type. His spikey pushed-back hairstyle suited him well for his slim and sharp face. The freckles under his eyes gave him a youthful look. He was strong-looking and tall, not to mention he was easy on the eyes. I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy.
“I'll see you on Saturday. I'll text you more details on where to meet.” He nodded vigorously in response. “I'll see you later, alright?” I smiled and winked at him.
Kouji gasped again and shyly covered his face with his hands.
I walked away chuckling to myself. I headed to the side of the building and yanked on Izuki’s hair. “You were getting a kick out of that weren't you?” Despite me pulling his hair, he was cackling loudly. I growled and let go. “I'm leaving. I have a date to plan.”
“Wait for me~!” Izuki called out.
-
Saturday, 06/01/XX
Even though I acted so confident back then, I felt as if I could pass out from nervousness. Mita-senpai and Natsuki helped me with my outfit today since I only wear hoodies or plain T-shirts. I wore a white collared T-shirt, baggy black pants, with a black cross bag. I fidgeted with my zipper on the bag as I scrolled through my phone.
“Yokono-senpai?”
I looked up from my phone and smiled at him. I had to admit, Kouji was eye candy. He wore a black leather jacket with a white shirt under it and dark jeans. His hair was gelled back as usual, but it seemed he put more effort into making it look symmetrical.
“You're a first-year, right?” I said while putting my phone away. He nodded while staring down. “You can drop the honorifics. Call me Rito.”
Kouji's eyes widened as he nodded.
Hesitantly, I held out my hand to him. “You don't have to if you feel uncomfortable.”
He looked at me expectantly. He bit his lip and slowly put his hand in mine.
I felt bad for making him feel this way, but Mita-senpai suggested that putting him in uncomfortable or life-or-death situations would trigger his powers. I would like to avoid the latter.
“Are you hungry?” He quickly nodded. I chuckled. “Let's go eat then.”
I let him choose where to eat, and he went to a ramen place. It didn't feel like a place to go on a date, but I wouldn't know where to go anyways. As we entered the ramen shop, I rubbed my arms up and down to keep myself warm. The sharp cold air of the restaurant made me shiver or perhaps it was my nerves chilling my body.
We sat across from each other so I finally got a better look at him. Despite his charismatic appearance, his personality was timid and childlike. Appearing as a thug, but had the spirit of a kitten. We ordered and quickly got our bowls of ramen. Kouji was a heavy eater, but that was expected of his build. He’s definitely the athletic type.
I drank the broth from my bowl deep in thought. Should I ask him what happened with the group of boys and that strange guy or maybe I should ask about his powers? No, that might scare him. I have to figure out a way...
“Rito?”
“Yes? Sorry,” I blinked a few times. “Did you say something?”
He picked up a bunch of noodles, letting it cool off before he ate it. “Have you been on dates with, um… Guys before?”
“I haven't yet.”
Kouji nodded while pursing his lips. He chewed on his ramen noodles.
“Have you?” He responded by shaking his head. I continued talking to clear the awkward air. “So Kouji, what are your hobbies?”
“I'm on the volleyball team.”
I ahed. “That suits you well, you're very tall.”
He softly smiled. He slurped more noodles, causing the liquid to drip on his chin. Kouji reached for a napkin, but I grabbed mine and wiped his face. His ears instantly turned red as I held his chin.
“Thank you.” He stammered.
“Yes, of—” I looked behind him and almost jumped out of my seat.
Behind Kouji was a familiar person with a platinum head of hair sitting with a group of boys. My heart sank. I quickly sat back in my seat and slouched so Kouji’s back was blocking me.
Shit, I can't focus on my date like this! What should I do?! I prayed he wouldn't look at my table. When Matsuoka would turn to our table, I'd use Kouji’s height and broad shoulders to my advantage.
After twenty minutes or so, we were done with our meals. Kouji ate all of his ramen along with a dozen dumplings and a plate of fried rice. I paid for our meals in advance, so we were resting before heading out. I saw the group in front of us get out of their seats and I started to panic. The sound of my heart hammered my head and ears as the crowd of boys walked towards our table.
“Kouji?”
The two of us turned and there he was.
“Matsuoka-senpai!” Kouji beamed. “It's nice seeing you here.” He looked at me and said, “We're both on the volleyball team.”
I already knew Matsuoka's on the team, but I played along. “Oh, nice!”
Matsuoka glanced at me, making my heart flutter. I thought I'd pass out. “This is?” He asked.
“Oh! This is Yokono-senpai.”
I took a sip from my water to partially hide my flustered face as I waved.
His marble-gray eyes stared at me as he gave me a genuine smile. “It's nice to meet a friend of Kouji's.”
“Y-yes of course, same for me too!” I said, with my best smile.
I peeked at Kouji and noticed a change in his demeanor. His eyebrow twitched as his impatient foot was tapping the floor.
Matsuoka and his friends began striking up conversations, asking who I was and how I knew Kouji. Their extreme spontaneity was overwhelming for an introvert like me.
Kouji abruptly grabbed my wrist, saying, “Sorry, Senpai, but we need to go. I'll see you at practice!” and dragged me out of the shop.
I was taken by surprise so I couldn’t say anything to Matsuoka or his friends. Kouji continued to pull on my wrist as we walked down the streets. He halted to a stop and quickly let go.
“I-I'm sorry! I didn't hurt you did I?” Worried, he looked straight into my eyes.
I laughed. “I'm tougher than I look. What happened back there?”
Kouji’s face twisted with embarrassment and irritation. “I wanted it to only be us…”
I covered my mouth. My heart ached to see the slow development of a one-sided affection. I held his hand again. “Let's continue then, shall we?”
As we stopped at the crosswalk, I started to have a bad feeling. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I checked my messages to see who it was.
I: RITO I KNOW YOU'RE ON YOUR DATE RIGHT NOW, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING FOLLOWING YA!
I looked around anxiously. I didn't want to be in a life-or-death situation right now.
R: How do you know?
I: MITA-SENPAI HAD A VISION! PLEASE BE CAREFUL! IF YA NEED BACK UP CALL ME!
I put my phone in my sling bag and continued to look around.
“Rito, are you feeling alright? You're holding my hand tightly.”
“Ah, sorry, yes I'm fine.” I lied. I was bracing myself for chaos to ensue.
While starting a conversation again with Kouji, the sound of a group of footsteps grabbed both of our attention. I turned my head and caught sight of a familiar crowd of boys. They were the boys who were chasing after Kouji after school that one day. I thought Kouji was tall, but they were even taller. I glared with furrowed brows as the rowdy boys inched closer to us.
“Aw, would you look at that? Kouji has a little boy toy.” The boy who gibbed appeared to be the leader, seeing how bold and intimidating his voice was.
“Didn't know you played on the opposite team!” Another boy hollered.
Kouji's face was hardened despite his hand trembling. He squeezed my hand. I held him with equal strength in reassurance. I kept my grip steady to stop our bodies from shaking in terror.
“We’re quite busy at the moment, so leave us alone.” I chided. As much as I wanted to punch the guy in the face, I knew I was no match for this group of boys. I mustered the courage to gesture with my head to tell Kouji to walk away.
He nodded, allowing him to be pulled away by me.
The boys started to pursue us. “You aren't going anywhere, Koukou! We still need to teach you a lesson for getting someone to beat us up.”
Kouji started to run, dragging me behind him. The bullies caught up to us at the next crosswalk where we were surrounded by civilians. Kouji and I ignored the group as we desperately crossed the street.
As we crossed the road, my eye caught something peeking out of the sewer. My foot stepped in a dark puddle of ooze that felt too thick to be oil and water. Without notice, a gush of black liquid oozed out and flooded the streets. I cursed under my breath and pulled Kouji as we ran. The screams of the thugs blending with the public's cries echoed behind us. I took out my mask and put it on my face.
“Wear this!” I handed him a mask. The younger boy put it on without hesitation.
I brought us to an alleyway where the shadow couldn't reach us. I peeked my head out to see a gigantic octopus moving down the road. I turned back to Kouji who was less than an inch away from my face. Thank goodness he was wearing a mask or else our faces would've collided.
“What is that thing, Rito?” Kouji asked timidly as he was moving away from my face. His entire body was shaking.
“I need you to calm down and stay here.” I held his face in my hands.
“What about you?” He desperately held onto my wrists.
“I'm going to kill it.”
“W-what? That's crazy!” He grasped desperately onto my shirt. “Please stay, I'm scared out of my mind!”
“I have something to tell you, I actually have–”
I flinched as I felt his face slip from my hands. Kouji suddenly transformed into a golden kitten. The kitten meow-ed loudly, its glassy eyes staring at me as its feeble body trembled in my palms. As happy as I was for this to happen, I needed to deal with the shadow. I dialed Izuki and informed him of what happened.
“Don’t freak out, Kouji.” I held him in my arms and turned both of us invisible. I ran into the streets and saw how devastating the damage was. I decided to distract the shadow just as I did with the serpent to bring it out of the city. I made myself visible again and tried to get the attention of the octopus.
I screamed as loud as I could at the beast, but it was to no avail. Its long tentacles slithered under cars, swiftly wrapping around them in its grasp, and flailing the vehicles in the air. The shadow’s limbs grew and began grabbing at the lamp posts and people fleeing on the streets. I thought of trying to get its attention again, but I hesitated as I didn’t want to put Kouji in harm's way. Before I could change my plan of action, the octopus’s tentacles stretched down to grab a hold of Kouji. I gasped, running to the side, and held Kouji close to my chest. His terrified wide eyes stared back at me.
“I got you,” I reassured him in a shaky voice.
With a passing glance, I saw a shining glint pass us. The flashing image of his ruby jacket allowed me to sigh in relief. Natsuki’s blade cut through the tentacles with the impact of the severed tentacles sending a shockwave through the streets. His eyes were fierce, yet he was grinning, his movements fluid yet too fast for the naked eye to see.
Suddenly, a portal flashed into existence in front of me. “I am here!” Izuki triumphantly announced.
“I'm sorry this happened on your date.” Mita-senpai apologized as he put down his hoverboard. During a time like this, I didn’t have the energy to deny his statement. “Izuki, you need to escort as many civilizations out of here. Rito, where's your date?”
I lifted the kitten. Izuki gasped and tried to pet him, but I smacked his hand out of the way. “He's sleeping right now, but I'm not sure for how long.”
“Protect him for now! Izuki will transport civilians while Natsuki and I handle this.”
I nodded while running back to the place I thought would be the safest for the two of us. Sprinting down the dorm halls, I frantically jammed the key into the door and slammed the door shut. The kitten was lying in my arms as I shuffled to my bed. I placed him on top of my pillow with a sigh.
I feel bad for deceiving him... I was glad our date didn't progress any further, but I probably did much worse than simply giving him a one-sided love.
Stroking his fur, I whispered, “I’m sorry.” I patted his head before heading out of the dorm to return to the battle scene.
I wasn't sure when the battle ended but once the city was empty, the shadow was gone. Izuki transported the three of us back to the heart of the city where Mita-senpai and Natsuki were. Mita-senpai stepped on the fallen pole with a heavy sigh. “This has gotten way out of hand.”
“Is it because there's more of us now that the shadows are popping up?” I asked.
“They were probably tracking you and Kouji down.” Mita-senpai hypothesized. “It’s possible when a new person awakens, the shadows appear.”
“Asuka, what will we do about the damage?” Natsuki asked.
“None of our superpowers are capable of such a feat…” Mita-senpai's face was melancholic. “Evacuating everyone is the only thing our powers are capable of. I made an emergency call, so first responders should arrive soon.” The eldest turned to me. “Let's go to someplace private to talk to Kouji. Hopefully, he's not too shaken up when he wakes up.”
Izuki created a portal for the five of us and we left the vicinity without anyone watching. At least, we thought no one was…
In the corner of the streets, a forbidding hooded boy lurked in the shadows as the five boys disappeared into the portal. He scowled, frost air exhaling from his mouth. As his frown deepened, he turned and fled the city without a trace.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
