It was a sunny day in Tokyo. A young male student with beautiful red hair and eyes was walking happily to school. He was accompanied by two other male students towards his destination.
"So, Ren, what are we going to do this weekend? I heard there is a new maid cafe opening today! Let's check it out!"
The student on the right said seemed excited and showed the rest a post on his phone. It seemed fancy with a maid on it holding a tray serving coffee happily.
"Look, they even emphasize there is a secret choice in the menu that you get to see only when you read it yourself!"
He pointed the last sentence at the bottom of the post. The student on the left seemed pretty bored, staring at the sky with his hands behind his neck.
"I think I'll pass Kenji. It sounds lame to go to a cafe only for maids and their secret choice."
He emphasized ironically the 'secret choice' and continued looking at the sky without a care in the world.
"Oh, shut up, Sora! You are such a party-pooper!"
Kenji complained in a sad tone, but he was still energetic.
"You always act so cold, but we all know you have weak points!"
He pointed out Sora with a big mocking grin on his face. Sora looked at him angrily and clenched his fist.
"What was that meant for, you idiot!"
"Calm down, guys."
Ren was walking along with them in the middle. He sounded calm, despite the corruption that was happening around him.
"There is no reason to fight over a maid cafe."
They both looked at him speechlessly as he continued talking.
"I can go with you, Kenji, if that's ok. I don't mind accompanying one of my old friends to their desired destinations."
Ren looked at Kenji happily, and then a sweat came off his forehead with his look changing to nervous.
"I mean, I'd love to come with you and have a fantastic time, even if you only plan to stare at the waitresses."
Sora laughed at what Ren said with joy on his face.
"Staring at the waitresses... That sounds like him."
Kenji seemed furious mostly at Sora's laughter and words.
"So? It's the whole reason maid cafes exist in the first place!"
Ren sighed desperately while the others were fighting.
'They both have been like this for a while now. Ah... this brings me back to when I first met Kenji and Sora.'
He looked in the clear sky despite all the commotion. Ren's mind drifted off to his first year of middle school when he met Sora and Kenji. Ren thought about the day he first them, arguing back in the first year of middle school.
'Almost four years passed from the day I met those two.'
Along with other amusing friends Ren made, they had a great middle school, and some of his friends made it to the same high school, such as Kenji and Sora. Those two were his very two best friends, and their usual arguments are what brought them closer. Finally, Ren looked at Kenji, wearing a proud smile.
'Even if Kenji is mean to Sora's decisions, he always deep down respects them. If Sora accepts Kenji's offer, Kenji will be the one to decline his company because he will feel like he is bothering Sora too much.'
Then, Ren looked at Sora.
'Sora can be harsh sometimes, but that tough act covers a smile. Usually, when he declines offers from Kenji, he suggests something else, knowing Kenji will accept it immediately.'
A girl walked in front of them, and everyone paused at her sight.
"What are you three fighting about? Is this again something stupid again? Come on, answer me, don't just stand there!"
She was pissed with her arms crossed.
"O-Oh, good morning Izumi. Nice weather, is it not-."
Izumi hit her foot on the ground angrily as Kenji seemed nervously scared.
"I asked you a question!"
She yelled, and Kenji hid behind Sora.
"Help, she is scary."
Kenji whispered in Sora's ear as quietly as he could. Izumi hit the ground once again, more forcefully this time, and walked towards Sora aggressively. She stopped in front of him and aimed at his face, threatening. Ren nervously smiled at the sight he had. Izumi was one of Ren's companions back in middle school. Fortunately, she was Sora's childhood friend, but they didn't communicate that much.
'She has kind of a unique character, but she is like a dog that barks without biting. Also, she can show a lovely friendly personality from time to time. However, her bad side is something people don't mess with.'
Izumi passed her hand next to Sora and took Kenji's phone. She looked at it for a second, and her brain went blank with a combination of her face going red.
"So..."
She seemed angrier than before. Ren raised his hands at the height of his chest and nervously tried to approach them when he saw a girl near where Izumi first appeared. He looked that way speechless and waved at her excitedly.
"Hey, Mai! What's up."
Ren yelled and ran Mai's way while the rest of them totally ignored him. Finally, he stopped next to her with a smile on his face.
"Oh... Hey, Ren."
She looked the other way embarrassingly, and Ren seemed troubled.
"Is something the matter, Mai?"
"I-It's nothing."
She looked back at him and smiled to greet him properly. Mai was one of the friends Ren made in middle school and came to the same high school.
'She is not only adorable but my crush since the first middle school year. Kind, intelligent, and, as I mentioned, adorable is how I would describe her character.'
Ren took a deep breath as he was planning to confess his feelings after the next year of high school, thinking that if he were an adult, it wouldn't be a problem if he got rejected. Mai flicked Ren's forehead gently.
"Hey, Ren, you're daydreaming again."
Ren seemed somewhat nervous around her.
"Oh yeah, sorry about that."
He looked behind to the other three that were still arguing and then faced Mai.
"How about we go to school alone? I don't think those three will be coming anytime soon."
Mai smiled cutely and charmed Ren's blush out.
"Y-Yeah."
And with that, those three continued walking by themselves towards the school. Later that morning, Ren and Mai made it to the school's front gate. They were both looking at it, amazed.
"The school's front view will never stop astound me. So let's begin our second year, Mai."
Ren turned and looked at her proudly as she was looking at him excitedly, wearing a cute smile.
"Yes, I'd love to."
She caught Ren off guard, and he looked the other way blessed.
"W-What's wrong, Ren?"
Mai sounded concerned about Ren's sudden change of character.
"I-It's nothing, don't worry about it."
He was hardly holding his nose from bleeding him to death.
'T-T-That smile. It's just what helped me forget the other females around me and focus o-only on her.'
She slowly poked his back innocently, and the bleeding began.
"Hey, you!"
Ren and Mai looked at the school gate, troubled, and saw a female opposing them with an angry look.
"Stop your chitchat immediately and head to the entrance ceremony."
Next to the furious female student, a male student was standing with an anxious look.
"W-We are sorry for that, Ren. I'll be taking care of her, don't worry."
She gave the male student a death glance, and he caught her from her hair.
"Come on now, Kumiko, you don't scare me the slightest, and you know it."
He seemed bored as he was pulling her away. She was moving her hands around with a sad face, ready to cry.
"Akira! Don't do that, not here! And I told you it's Mrs. President!"
"Just shut up and come. Stop destroying people's days with your aggressiveness."
Mai and Ren were both speechless at what just occurred, and Mai broke the silence by giggling with her hand on her mouth. Ren looked at her, still shocked, and laughed a bit.
"Shall we get inside? The entrance ceremony is about to begin."
"Sure."
Her overflowing cuteness made Ren turned around again and bled while covering his nose. She tried to reach at him, concerned again, but they heard voices from where they came.
"You guys! Wait!"
They saw Izumi, Sora, and Kenji running their way anxiously. They stopped next to them and started panting their lungs out.
"You seriously ran all the way in here?"
"What... else... were we... supposed... to do?"
Izumi seemed drawn out just like the other two. Mai and Ren looked at each other and laughed as the other three saw them confusingly.
"Um, did we lose something?"
Kenji said first to interrupt their joyful moment, and they stopped.
"Nah, everything's fine. Let's head inside, shall we?"
Mai suggested, and they all nodded. All the students were lined up in the school's theater, separated by year. The teachers were on top of the theater's stage, with the principal giving his welcomes to the new students.
"And now, some words from our student council president and vice-president."
Kumiko and Akira walked on the stage with Kumiko in front of the microphone.
"My name is Nakamura Kumiko, and as the student council president, I'd like to welcome all of you for a good year..."
She continued talking. Ren was along with Izumi, Mai, Kenji, and Sora when Izumi whispered to Ren's ear.
"Hey, your sister will be the student council president this year as well. You should be proud."
Ren nodded proudly without looking at Izumi.
"Yup, she is the top student in the school every year."
The speech continued. Ren's older sister Kumiko is the reason he came to this school. They both lived by themselves from the beginning of their middle school since their village could only provide them with elementary grades. So they came here to live, but they managed, thanks to their grandparents that lived nearby. At her first high school year, they rented an apartment, and she got a part-time job to support him. She is practically his only close family member for the past four years. Ren came in the last grade of elementary, though, not only for his sister to adjust to taking care of him but also for adjusting to the city life. The long boring speech of Kumiko came to an end.
"And with that, our vice-president has a word as well."
Kumiko took a step behind, and Akira walked in the middle to talk.
"My name is Akira Suzuki, and as Kumiko said, I am the student council vice-president."
Akira was Kumiko's, Ren's big sister, boyfriend for the past two years. They first met in high school, and she brought him into their apartment lots of times.
'He is a kind man, and when I was there, he was helping me with my studies, unlike my sister.'
Ren pouted at his sister's ignorance.
'Well, my sister was busy with a part-time job, so exhaustion was the first thing she had on her mind at home. Not long after they started dating, he became one of my friends as well.'
Akira's speech ended quickly and made Ren feel relieved that their misery was already over.
"It's good that Akira doesn't have those long boring speeches like my sister."
Ren whispered, and the rest of his friends chuckled. The school started with Ren, Kenji, and Mai being in the same class. Ren was sitting at the last desk next to the window with Mai next to him and Kenji in front.
"Hey, Ren, what do you think? Who's going to be our teacher this semester?"
Kenji turned around and looked at Ren curiously.
"I don't really care; as long as the teacher isn't Mr. Troll, then I'm fine with that."
Mai giggled with her hand before her mouth.
"Why do you say that about Suzuki-sensei? Because he is as short as a dwarf?"
"Nah, I mean yes, but not only for that. He gives us a lot of homework, so we got him a nick. Mr. Troll should be proud; all the teachers would want a nickname."
He shrugged.
"Well, it might be because we hate him, but still, he is special."
All three of them laughed joyfully, and a book's noise getting slapped at the teacher's desk interrupted them. They looked towards there and spotted a short teacher in front of the board.
"You slackers, return to your seats immediately!"
"Great, the one teacher we didn't want to."
Kenji sighed disappointedly and turned around towards the teacher.
'Ugh... This is going to be a looong semester...'
Ren seemed disappointed and looked outside of the window as the teacher had already started talking. The view from that seat to the outside was breathtaking, with the beautiful trees and birds flying around. Then, a sudden hit from a book in the head made Ren turn around. Mr. Troll was looking at him angrily.
"Ren! Don't space out of the class, moron!"
Ren shook his head and looked towards the teacher embarrassingly.
"S-Sorry, sir!"
His proudness was swallowing his nervousness. The first day as a second-year ended for Ren and the others, and Ren was walking alongside Mai. Ren sighed as he was looking upwards at the sky.
"Mai, this is going to be the longest year; I just know it."
She seemed troubled to follow Ren.
"Um, is it because Mr. Troll is our homeroom teacher? I hope that's not the case."
Her worried smiled appeared on her face.
"Nah, I don't think that's really it. For some reason, I feel that this year is going to be like three times larger. I don't know; I just feel like it."
She looked towards the sky.
"It's a shame the others joined clubs the first day and couldn't see the view with us."
Ren totally ignored the sky and looked at her cute face. She looked around and smiled happily at him.
"But, it might be my chance to show you something."
She grabbed his hand and started running in another direction. With his other hand, Ren was trying to hold his nosebleeding.
'I swear, if she knows about the bleeding, she just straight-up tries to kill me.'
It was night, and the stars became slowly visible on the clear night sky. They were both sitting on a cliff and staring at the moon.
"It's beautiful, isn't it, Ren?"
He nodded without being able to get a word out of his mouth.
"You see, before my mother passed away last year, she told me that..."
Mai recalled her sitting next to a hospital bed, holding her mother's hand gently.
"... I'll never leave your side, sweetheart. If your nights get lonely, remember to look at the sky, I'll be right there, watching over you and keeping you company."
Her voice became weaker, and the heart rate monitor started beeping nonstop as she exhaled her last breath. Mai squeezed her mother's hand, and tears began to flow on her cheeks. Ren seemed down with Mai's story about her mother.
"I see, so that's why you brought me here at that time."
Mai looked at him with a cheerful smile.
"Mh-mm. Come on, Ren, don't look so down."
She punched him lightly on his shoulder and looked at the sky once again. Ren glanced at her, surprised by her positive reaction.
"If my mother said that, then she is truly there. I can't have a sad face while she is watching."
Ren spotted a tear flowing her cheek but didn't react.
"She also told me to call for her name, and something magical will happen if there is a full moon out there."
He looked at the sky and spotted the moon in its full glory, as Mai's mother told her.
"Say, Ren, do you remember my mother's name?"
He looked at her sadly.
"I'm sorry."
"It was... Sakura."
A breeze passed by them and took Mai's tear with them as it shined in front of the moon. Then, a white magic circle appeared before her and started sucking her in.
"Help! Ren!"
They were both shocked and scared. Finally, Ren swallowed his fears and grabbed her hand tightly.
"I got you, Mai!"
As he was trying to pull her away from the magic circle, he got sucked in with Mai. After a brief moment, Ren regained his consciousness and slowly opened his eyes. Looking around, he understood earth wasn't his location anymore. Ren stood up and scratched his head like he was just awakened from sleep.
"Huh. What happened?"
He looked around and saw guards surrounding him. Shocked as he was, Ren saw a massive magic circle similar to the one that was sucking Mai.
"Huh? What happened?"
Mai, who was sleeping next to where Ren woke up, rubbed her eyes as she looked around sleepy. She noticed the guards and the magic circle as well, and Ren looking around nervously.
"Ren? What's all that?"
He saw her sleeping and offered her hand with a smile on his face.
"I don't really know. But, hey, there is nothing you should be afraid of; we will find out together."
She took it, and Ren pulled her up.
"Ok, so you guys can do the explaining? What's going on? Why were we sucked in this place?"
Ren was looking around fearlessly, but he was forcing that face.
'If I seem scared in front of Mai, that will only get her nervous. So keeping the act is the best thing I can do in that kind of situation.'
None of the guards were talking; they were standing still quietly.
"Come on, if you sucked us in this place, don't we deserve an explanation at the very least?"
Ren clenched his teeth as the guards were neither answering to him nor moving at all.
"Who brought as here? Can you at least tell us that?"
A moment of silence was following all of Ren's questions.
"R-Ren... Is it because I called my mom's name that we are here?"
He looked behind at her shockingly.
"I mean... She did mention something magical will happen..."
Ren patted her head without a second thing and surprised her.
"Don't worry. I am pretty sure that wasn't what she meant. But, even if it was, your mother loved you; she wouldn't take you to a place where your life was in danger, right?"
A caring smile accompanied Ren's words that relieved Mai's anxiousness.
"Y-Yeah... I gue-."
She shook her head and saw him with a strong face.
"I mean, you are right; you have to be!"
A sudden clapping interrupted their chat, and they looked at where the sound was coming from. Surprisingly for both of them, an old man with long white hair and a black rob was walking their way.
"Hey, you! I bet you are the one who called us here, correct?"
Ren yelled angrily at the old man.
"You are wrong, my child. I wasn't the one calling you here. I ordered them to call you here."
He stopped and pointed at the guards that were around the white circle Ren and Mai were standing on. All of them simultaneously fell on the ground, and a light came out of them, flowing towards the ceiling.
"What the..."
Ren and Mai looked at their souls, getting out of the rooftop slowly.
"You see, those men exchange their souls for the summoning of one hero. But, unfortunately, something went wrong, I suppose, and both of you came here..."
The old man gave them a severe look.
"The question is, which one of you is the summoned hero."
Ren looked at him furiously, unlike Mai's scared reaction. Finally, the old man turned around and faced the hall that he came from.
"If you need to seek further information about your current situation or the location you step foot on right now, you'd better follow me."
Coldly as he continued, the old man started walking away from the summoning area as Ren and Mai looked at each other.
"We should go. There is no telling what will happen if we stay here any longer."
She nodded and grabbed his hand shyly as she looked the other way.
"C-Can we hold hands? I-It's pretty s-scary here... I might-."
Ren saw how her voice was lowering with every word and closed his fist with her hand on it.
"Yup, don't worry. I'll protect you with my life, Mai."
He smiled and scared Mai's feelings away. After a staring moment, they started walking in the old man's footsteps. As they stepped outside of the circle, it disappeared, and a crystal appeared on the top of their hands. They looked at their own and noticed it was a different color. Ren's crystal was red, unlike Mai's that was light blue.
"Hey! What's the meaning of this?!"
Ren yelled at the old man furiously, and he didn't even pause.
"I believe it was clear that further information lies in my destination."
They continued walking behind, trying to catch up. Finally, after lots of hallways and stairs, they made it to a giant room with a throne at the end of it. Kenji, Sora, Izumi, Kumiko, and Akira were bowing before the king that was sitting on the throne. Ren looked at them, amazed, and tried running towards them, but Mai stopped him by grabbing him tighter. He turned around and saw her feared look as she shook her head.
"Something's off."
She whispered.
"Bow before the king, next to the other heroes."
They left their hand-holding and walked towards the rest of them. Ren and Mai stopped next to them and bowed in a line before the king.
"Now that you are all here, I believe it's about time to start by explaining both of our situations."
The king closed his eyes and sighed desperately.
"I am the king of this place, or how many of my people tend to call me, the strongest mage in this country. Firstly, I'll inform you about our current circumstances."
The king looked back at them.
"There are two kingdoms in this world, the humans and the demons, that are constantly on a war for a thousand years now. Lately, there have been several rumors around our world, telling us that the demon king summoned ten demon lords to attack the humans. A thousand years ago, before the war started between humankind and demons, demons ruled the planet. Unfortunately for them, six heroes were summoned to free humans from their misery. In order to prevent our destruction, we decided to gather the six great heroes, as our story says, to defeat the demons once and for all. The ritual for summoning all of you needed a thousand years exactly to be achievable."
'Wait, six? We are seven, aren't we?'
Ren looked next to him, discreetly, and counted down seven with him.
"As all of you are aware, there are seven of you that were summoned in our realm, and unfortunately, one of our latest participants has to be a misfit here. So the following question is, which one?"
Everyone's eyes were locked on Ren and Mai. The king coughed politely and resumed his speech.
"Continuing, there will be a test after our meet here to find out the wrong-."
Ren interrupted the king's speaking by standing up. His look was as severe as it could get, and with his right arm on his heart, he bowed.
"I am the one that came by mistake, your majesty. I was shocked by how Mai got swallowed in by thin air that I am afraid I grabbed her hand and came along with her."
Mai looked at him surprised, and so did the rest of the heroes.
"But, if I am honest, I don't regret any of my actions. Being by my friend's side in tricky situations is what I always do without a portion of grief."
'There you have it, that's Ren for ya.'
Akira thought with a proud smile.
'My, Ren. He grew up so fast.'
Kumiko was ready to cry from her happiness.
'He was always like this; nothing changed thus far and never will.'
Izumi seemed proud, forcing a smile not to appear, but it was difficult for her.
'Still as airhead as ever, but that's not a bad quality to have.'
Sora smiled sincerely for a change.
'Nice going, man, I've done the same for you.'
Ren's words moved Kenji. As for Mai, her reaction didn't change a bit; only a tear flew down her cheek without any other movements.
"Your fate will be decided before the week ends. I'd like to continue now if there are no questions till now."
"Of course, your majesty."
Ren bowed before the king once again.
'I couldn't just let them perform tests on Mai. I still can't put my trust in that world, so declining all possible ways of getting hurt is the only option left on the table. That said, I am not really sure that having Mai fight demon lords is safe. Instead, I'll have to help her there as well. Furthermore, it's safe to assume that the king put his trust quickly in me, but it might have been only because of the guys in here. Now that I blurred his vision, he can't act carelessly and attempt to assassinate neither of us. Forcing us to take the test means the misfit will be as good as dead. Lastly, he might have been bluffing about the test part to see whether or not we are trustworthy of his, but somehow I doubt seeing who the real hero is, so I have to play along until more clues get revealed.'
"Your training section will begin by tomorrow. You will each need to pair up in teams of two for a more leisurely start. We don't want you getting killed the first day. I'll inform you of your pairs tomorrow morning before your training begins. Any objections?"
"No, your majesty."
All the heroes and Ren said at the same time.
"Then, dismissed."
Later that night, Ren, Kenji, and Sora sat around a table chatting inside a room. Sora seemed relatively calm with his hands behind his head and his legs on top of the table. Ren and Kenji were talking more excitedly about their incident.
"Say, Ren, what will you do tomorrow? You know, since you happen to be the misfit."
Kenji laughed, but Ren's look changed to sad.
"Oh, about that. I don't really know."
Kenji and Sora were surprised by Ren's sad face.
"Wow, man, I've never seen you looking sad for a long while."
Sora's tone changed to worried, and Ren laughed it off nervously.
"Come on, now. I'm not sad. It's the truth I am a misfit, so I have to deal with my actions. Judging by their looks, though, I doubt they will return me to earth. Even if it was possible, having me go back might make you or the others furious about it."
"Yeah, I see you have a point there."
Kenji's enthusiasm was drawn away before the words came out of his mouth.
"But, hey. You said you did the right thing, and I bet every single one of us would have done the same there. I will support you the best I can."
Kenji said, and his happiness came back.
"Yeah, what he said. I am not going to let you pass all of that misfit thing alone. But I bet he will listen to the heroes. He can't just do what he wants if his kingdom is going to be destroyed, correct?"
Sora sounded more calmly this time, but Ren's sadness wasn't yet gone.
"I don't believe that's the best idea. Having you guys fight here with me around your legs isn't something that will help you. You should just let me get exiled, or whatever punishment awaits, and win the demon lords. This way, all of you might get the chance to return-."
Before finishing his sentence, Sora stood up furious and slapped his hands against the table.
"We told you that we are going to help you. Like you tried to help Mai and stood next to her even in this world, we will do the same. We saw you coming fearlessly and heroic into the king's throne room holding a scared girl's hand even if you were more frightened than her. We were called here to be heroes, and I bet heroes don't let down anyone, right?"
Kenji stood up as well and hit his hand on the table, too.
"Yeah, if we are really the heroes, we are supposed to keep everyone safe. Not only that, but as our friend, you are our first priority."
Their words made a smile appear on Ren's face, a relieved and happy one.
"Thanks, you guys. It really means a lot, but I am going out for a bit to take some air."
Ren stood up and left the room without Kenji and Sora denying it. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Ren noticed Kumiko and Akira walking in the hallway. Kumiko immediately ran towards Ren with excitement and opened her hands outwards. She hugged him tightly, but more relieving than happily.
"Here is my young here. I am glad you are ok, Ren."
Akira caught up with Kumiko and stood next to them.
"Yo, Ren. What you did back there, was just awesome."
He winked with a proud smile and thumbed up.
"Saving a girl? When did you grow up that much? I was ready to cry by your talk to the king."
Ren laughed it off anxiously.
"Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to help a friend, that's all. Having a friend sucked in from a magic circle before my eyes, wasn't something I was planning on letting happen."
Kumiko looked at him, ready to cry again.
"I remember you being only a child some hours ago, but I was wrong. A strong man was hidden behind the scenes, and I didn't realize it until now!"
Ren gave her a grin.
"Of course, of course."
Ren's glance moved to Akira as he started talking.
"Nope, she is for real right now. From the time the meeting ended, she was searching the whole place to find you and praise you. You can't possibly understand how many times I heard all of those words the past few hours."
He smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck while a sweat flew down his forehead. Then, Kumiko turned around and yelled at him angrily.
"Shut up. Ren doesn't have to know all about what happened. The important is now, got it?!"
"Yeah, apologizes for that."
Ren started laughing joyfully, and they both looked at him, confused.
"Sorry, it's just, seeing you fighting reminds me that even in another world, we are both ourselves. I can't let sad thoughts bring me down, like what the king will decide. I bet it won't be a big deal at all."
Kumiko started crying and hugged Ren tighter.
"The more you talk, the more mature you sound, right now. I am so proud words just can't explain it."
Ren and Akira started laughing at Kumiko's reaction.
"Hey, what are you both laughing at? Did you set me up on this?"
They both ignored Kumiko's angry questions and continued laughing. Finally, Ren managed to get away from his sister's hugging and flee the hallways, searching for Mai's room. He found it after a little while and knocked on the door politely three times. No one answered, and he decided to hit again.
'How knows, she might be bathing. Wait, we have baths?'
Ren ignored that Mai didn't answer and got confused for a second. He shook his head and slowly opened the door.
"Hey, Mai, you all right?"
Again no answer came, and he walked in. Weirdly for him, the lights were on. He stepped inside and noticed Mai's absence as well as an open window. Curiously, he didn't react scared; only a smile came to his face. He stepped off the window fearlessly and started climbing upwards.
'I bet she is up there, looking at the stars. That idiot...'
He stopped on the rooftop of the castle and spotted Mai with Izumi staring at the night sky. They didn't hear Ren coming, and he managed to scare them by appearing behind them and touch their shoulder simultaneously.
"Hello gir-."
A punch came out of Izumi and struck Ren. Good for him; he didn't fall off the roof.
"What was that for?"
Izumi pouted and looked the other way with her arms crossed.
"Learn to stop scaring us, and I'll learn to stop hit you... in the face."
Ren seemed angry.
"That's not even a nice deal!"
He shook his head in pain from the punch.
"Anyway, what brings you two here?"
Mai looked at Ren. The night sky's light made Mai seemed even more gorgeous than before and amazed Ren.
"I wanted to see how the night sky is in here, and since this place was some hours behind Japan, I thought I could get to see them tonight. So Izumi brought me here, saying it is a perfect spot, and she was right!"
She smiled happily, and Ren's nose let a drop of blood flowing down. He shook his head to get it out and smiled excitedly at Mai.
"Indeed, it's an excellent spot. Nicely done, Izumi."
Ren turned his glance at her, and she stood up with her hands stretched down and an angry face.
"W-Whatever. I'm leaving. Take care of Mai."
Without other words from Izumi's mouth, she left the rooftop, and Ren sat next to Mai, staring at the stars.
"Thanks."
Mai quietly said, and Ren looked at her confused.
"Hm? For what exactly?"
The smile he had, became larger and brighter.
"For watching over me. You grabbed my hand back there without hesitation and came along with me. You stood up straight in the summoning area without any track of fear in your emotion, but we all know you acted that way to make me feel less nervous."
She giggled cutely and continued.
"You, immediately, took all the blame in front of the king, without knowing whether or not you'd take any sort of punishment. You always acted so bravely just to help your friends, and I bet every single one of them trusts you and supports you the same way I do."
Mai finally looked at Ren and smiled proudly, but ended up cutely with Ren nosebleeding again. He wiped the drop of blood with his hand and smiled as well.
"Don't worry. I promise I'll protect you even if it costs me my life."
He raised his hand in the height of his chest and offered Mai his pinky.
"Thanks. I promise not to get involved in too much trouble."
They both laughed. Mai accepted the pinky promise, and with that, they sealed Ren's words in front of the gigantic breathtaking full moon in that night sky.