*Ding-dong*
The sound of the bell ran through the school, followed by sighs and sounds of relief from the students.
Break for these students has started, a mere 50 minutes of a break compared to their tedious 200 minutes of daily brain power taxing activities...
Well, wasting no time, some students rushed to the cafeteria while others, like Kichiro, brought their bento from home.
As Kichiro put his bento on the table, he looked forward to seeing a boy standing before him. Casting shadow all over his lunch...
"Yes, Shiro?" Kichiro asked the boy standing before him with his eyebrow raised.
With a wry smile, Toshiro voiced his envy, "Ahh... I wish I had someone to give me a bento. It's a shame I need to go to the cafeteria." He took a deep breath before he continued with a pleading tone, "Ah... I have to go against an ocean of people just to get some lousy bread."
Kichiro smiled as he reached for his bag once again before he replied, "Seriously... you are a nuisance, you know? Learn to cook!" He said as he took another box of bento from his bag.
Toshiro's face brightened when he saw Kichiro take another bento from his bag. "Seriously! You are the best!" He exclaimed after he took the bento in a blink of an eye.
With an excited look on his face, he dragged an empty chair again to sit right next to Kichiro.
"Thank you for the meal!" Toshiro exclaimed as he put his palms together while bowing.
Toshiro ate it with gusto without wasting a second after the delicious fragrance permeated the air.
Kichiro smiled, seeing him eating his cooking in such a way. Each of his bites and chews was audible, while his cheeks could sometimes be puffed like a squirrel as he savored each bite.
He was raised similarly to Kichiro, except that his mother has already passed away... All the foods he ever ate were always ordered online from an application. He never tasted the warm ordinary meal of a household.
"Kichi, your cooking has improved! Don't you want to live with me instead?" Toshiro asked while chewing, "I will even buy a capsule for you!" He exclaimed as he put his hand on Kichiro's shoulder.
"Eat first! Seeing you eat with a suit on and without it, is like seeing two different people. You are the one who developed a personality disorder." Kichiro remarked, followed with a small chuckle.
Ignoring his remark, Toshiro continues eating the bento in front of him.
After finishing his meal, Toshiro put his hands in the air and then took Kichiro's water to finish his lunch. "Seriously, I feel alive... that meal is really good." He said with a satisfied expression.
Knowing him for almost a year, Kichiro didn't even pay attention to when his water was drank half of it.
In contrast to his outgoing personality, Toshiro found it really hard to get close to someone like Kichiro. The sign of Toshiro being a little extra with him shows their close relationship.
"By the way..." Toshiro started another topic as he stared at Kichiro, still eating his bento, "Tomorrow is the first raid event in Ashen Fantasy."
"Hmm? Are you sure? The game has been out for almost three weeks. No wa---" Before Kichiro finished his sentence, he got cut off as Toshiro put his finger in a hushing motion.
"World. Wide. Scale." Toshiro continued with a serious look, "Every single continent where the Players had spawned has their own starting town, right?"
Kichiro nodded even though he didn't know much about it.
"For example, we have Ruina in Japan and Korea. America has Valeri, and the list goes on." He explained with a serious expression.
Once again, Kichiro nodded in reply.
"Those towns will be raided by a bunch of Orcs." Toshiro exclaimed as his eyes widened, "The devs have said that they have given the Players a fifty percent chance to repel the attack and maintain the quest line in their starting town."
Hearing his explanation, Kichiro's ears twitched as he picked up a certain line. "What do you mean by fifty percent?" He asked with a curious expression as he finally finished his meal.
A wide grin appeared on Toshiro's face as he saw Kichiro's sudden curiosity. "That means Ruina will be in ruin if we don't repel the Orcs back!"
As he tried to put the boxes back into his bag, Ioki's expression changed... for a few seconds he froze.
As if nearing the climax of his orate, the orator had a satisfied expression accompanied by a sly smile as he put his hand on Kichiro's shoulder.
"Now, listen to me... I'll give you money so you can hire a capsule tomorrow for the whole day." Toshiro tried to convince him while he grasped his shoulder firmly.
"Are you suggesting I skip school again? What kind of Class Lead are you? I will tell this to Nishimura-sensei and Himura-san." Kichiro replied bewilderedly as he heard this boy rambling, resembling a crazy man.
"Shh! Lower your voice!" Toshiro exclaimed with a hushing motion with a panicked expression as his notion was rejected. "I will skip school tomorrow as well. We log in from 8 in the morning. How does that sound?" Not giving up, he still tried his best to convince Kichiro.
Suddenly, a commotion could be heard from outside as a bunch of footsteps approached their class.
A group of seniors stood in front of the entrance to their class.
A white-haired senior stood out the most as he smiled at the two boys sitting near the window.
He grasped his fist tight as he approached them, "Hey, Iori-san!" He shouted.
Kichiro and Toshiro stopped talking and had their attention on this approaching senior. The way he walked with swagger and confidence shows it all. This senior is an experienced fighter who exudes an extraordinary aura all over...
Toshiro's eyes widened as he saw the approaching senior, "Sasagawa-senpai! What brings you here?" He inquired.
Sasagawa then put his hand on top of Toshiro's head as he spoke, "You should know my business with you only involves around Aya. This time, I'm not here for you, hehe." He spoke cheerfully.
His smile was gone as his eyes locked in a stare with Kichiro.
His stare, his confidence, everything reminds Ioki of the Nine Paws.
Kichiro smiled before finally he let out a laugh.
Students around him were baffled by his reaction before it finally stopped as Sasagawa put his hand on Kichiro's shoulder.
"What's so funny?" Sasagawa asked as he stared at Kichiro.
Taking a deep breath before replying, he opened his mouth. "Probably the whole thing about how my stupid decision had brought me into this predicament in the first place." Kichiro retorted with a smile.
Of course, no one knows the meaning behind his cryptic sentence.
Before he could open his mouth, Kichiro cut in and said, "Say senpai. You want to test your strength against me, right?"
A wide smile appeared on both of them after Kichiro finished his sentence.
"Kichiro! Do you even know who Sasagawa-senpai is? Say sorry right now!" Toshiro shouted as he put his hands on Kichiro's back.
"Judging from the way he looks, a martial artist. Although I don't know which one!" Kichiro guessed while shrugging.
After hearing his reply and seeing his composed reaction, Sasagawa laughed loudly as he removed his hand from Kichiro's shoulder.
"God! I wish I had juniors like you in my club!" Sasagawa spoke as he wiped the tear of laughter, "The same as you, Ioki. I am a boxer!" He continued as he got into a stance.
"I never said anything about being a boxer, though?" Kichiro replied with his brows furrowed.
"Jeez, like I care! After school, come into the boxing club and have a spar with me." Sasagawa's words echoed through the classroom.
The other students could be heard whispering as they couldn't control their expressions after hearing the challenge of a National level boxer against a random student. Well, this isn't a random student, but Ioki himself in the flesh.
"I refuse..." Kichiro replied flatly.
Sasagawa slipped as he heard Kichiro's reply. The whole classroom fell on their heads as they let out sighs of disappointment. They were expecting another kind of twist.
"What do you mean, Ioki?!" Sasagawa asked with a baffled expression as he put his hands on Kichiro's shoulder.
"I don't get anything out of it... why would I agree to such things, hehe~" Kichiro replied playfully.
"What do you want?" Sasagawa asked once again as he stared at Kichiro in the eyes.
Toshiro was making a money sign with his thumb and index fingers. Sasagawa, upon seeing it, convinced Kichiro once again. "If it's money, I can give it to you!"
"I wonder if I need money... there is this bike that I love, you see. A great road bi---"
Before he could finish his sentence, Sasagawa shouted in response. "I will! I will give you that kind of bike! It won't even dent a bit on my wallet, especially with how my tournaments lined up next few months."
Seeing him bite the bait, Kichiro smiled before finally sealing the deal. "What are the rules? What should I do to get such a bike from you, senpai?~"
"No wonder women go crazy for you! You know how to pull strings, huh? Just like me! Every great fighter like us knows how to play with women's hearts, haha!" Sasagawa exclaimed.
"If that's true, Aya-nee would be head over heels for you... take a look at the mirror first, you muscle brain." Toshiro muttered, followed by whistling.
"Shut up, you dumbass!" Sasagawa shouted as he reached for Toshiro's collars.
This event marked another beginning in Kichiro's life... soon, he would find out the difference between a regular and a top-level Player based on this particular sparring.