A couple of days after that unusually, uncomfortable event at that café, Horu's daily school life commenced.
Well, what was left of it. He was in his third year of high-school and at the time, there were only a few weeks left before the graduation exams.
Which meant of course...
'Studying.'
'Studying.'
'Studying!'
"...Studying! HA-HA—"
He burst out in laughter but completely forgot that he was on a public bus. The boy used public transport to go to school since he hated walking; purchasing new means of transportation was just way too expensive.
Even though, his school was just a few stops from his house.
Arrived, Horu stood in front of the school gates, waiting for a certain someone to jump on his back and greet him with thunderous joy, as always.
But today, things were different.
'Guess I really fucked it up badly last Friday, huh.'
"By the way..."
Horu grabbed his oversized smartphone out of his pocket to see the time.
It was then.
[9.04]
'How long... had I been standing here? Shit!'
With all the force of his legs, Horu sprinted through the entrance; the stairs; the first floor, and...
"You're late."
His teacher pointed at the clock on the wall behind him.
It was '9:07.'
"I'm sorry, I'm so—"
He hindered Horu with a cold voice.
"I don't care about your sorry excuse. Now, go sit down."
With his schoolbag in his arms, he headed to his seat and sat down by the window on the far, left side of the classroom.
Usually, when one was late during class, everyone present tended to stare at them.
As if they were a celebrity.
Horu grabbed his books, but the only thing he concentrated on wasn't related to school in any way.
It was her; Kaede Umazugawa.
She sat at the desk next to his. The morning sunlight shone on her like a spotlight. Her beauty was surreal.
What happened to me all of a sudden? I have never felt this feeling before.
'Why does she look so... pretty... all of a sudden?'
'Is it just me?'
Now that Horu thought carefully about it, he realized that Kaede hadn't appeared any different than usual.
'So, it's definitely me.'
'I think I'm...'
"...Mr. Sakaki!"
"Hmm... Oh, yeah! S-Sorry, what was the question again?"
He heard the whole class laughing at him.
'What just happened? Did I space out?'
"Is something the matter, Mr. Sakaki?"
"Oh... Nothing, Izoku-sensei."
He felt the lifeless eyes behind those glasses staring into the depths of his soul.
'Brrrr.'
Horu shivered at the thought of it.
"Spacing out isn't quite like you... As for the question..."
During and after the first period, Kaede hadn't batted an eye at him. Horu tried everything non-verbal to gain her attention. But no hope. Afterward, it took him fifteen minutes to get back home, as usual.
"I'm home!"
No response.
"Well, I guess I've been pretty much used to it my entire life."
Horu lived on his own. His mother was always at work overseas. On normal occasions, Horu would go to school together with Kaede, who lived pretty close to his house.
A few blocks away.
So a bit too close.
In fact, her house was probably as big as two entire blocks. Her dad owned multiple mansions all over the world.
Suddenly, the bell rang.
'That's strange. I just came in.'
Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Diiiiiiiiiing-doooooooooong. Diiii-
"CAN YOU PLEASE NOT SPAM THE FUCKI—"
Horu had never in his life been so embarrassed, until as of now.
"I-I'm sorry... Can I... come in...?"
Kaede's face was beet red as she asked him for an invitation to his soulless home.
Did I just yell at a female character which I might have feelings for, and who might be the main heroine of this series?! What an idiot...
"Y-Yeah... sure... come in."
He closed the front door behind him as he stuttered.
'What the hell is she doing here?'
"After all these years of us being such close friends, and this is my first time coming inside here."
"I know, right?"
"Heh...yeah..."
It looked like she was nervous for some reason.
"...So, wassup?"
Quizzed by the painful silence that filled the atmosphere, Horu attempted to break it but ultimately failed.
Horrifyingly.
''Wassup?' HORU!! Be more careful of your lines!'
"Care for some tea?"
"Yes, sure."
She took off her shoes, which were designer and probably cost one year of Horu's rent.
He guided her to the living room and she sat down on the sofa.
The kitchen was right next to the living room; they were separated through a bar. Against the bar, on the side of the living room, stood a table and two seats.
"What brings you here all of a sudden?"
He said whilst whipping up some hot water.
No response.
He probably didn't notice, but he was staring at her beautiful features since the moment she stepped in.
"No reason at all, I just felt like I had to talk to you about something."
'So there is a reason she came here.'
Horu had flashbacks of the night before and how he screwed things up with his only crush.
"This might seem sudden, Horu. But there is a reason why I'm here."
'T-This is it!'
'The moment has finally arrived!'
'My first love?!'
"Horu..."
"Yeah..."
"...I've always loved you..."
'Wait.'
'Don't tell me.'
"...But my heart belongs to someone else now."
Inside Horu's head was the sound of glass shattering and getting crushed. As if someone threw his feelings to the ground and kept smashing them, even after they'd already broken into pieces.
"I'm sorry. It's just that being friends wasn't enough for me. I couldn't wait around for you to receive my feelings. It's been years, Horu."
There was an unshed tear in her eye.
"Simon."
"How did y—"
"It's okay. He told me beforehand...at the café."
'It's not okay at all! My best friend just snatched my crush!'
"I don't know if you've ever felt the same about me. But I needed to tell you this since we're close friends... aren't we?"
"..."
She looked at him with a tear in her left eye. Horu could tell that this girl was just about to burst into tears.
No... somehow, he knew.
Clack!
The kettle was done with its task.
And so was Horu...
"...We aren't... and I don't love you. Where did you even get that idea from?"
He was pissed.
Angry.
Furious.
"I've never loved you, Kaede. Here's your tea. I'm gonna pour it in for you. After that, I want you to leave. You can give me the cup tomorrow at school. Now, please leave..."
He was bluffing, acting tough.
There was no merit in doing so. But he did it, anyway. He turned around to avoid eye contact with her.
But really, he just didn't want her to see the tears that were rolling down his cheek. He didn't want her to see the kind of coward he was.
"O-Okay then."
Behind him were footsteps headed for the front door. And after a few seconds, the front door closed.
It was in that instant, that evidence of him being a pussy could've been gathered if anyone were there.
Horu began weeping and crying out loud. He collapsed onto the kitchen sink and wet his sleeves with tears.
"K-K-Kae-de!"
'Why? Why did all this shit have to happen to me?'
After crying for a few minutes, he became exhausted and headed to bed. He needed an escape from this awful day.
Even worse, he needed an escape from everything. He turned his VRDiver back on and spent the entire night killing the same dragon, over and over again.