"Alright, I believe you had a gathering with your manga fan friends." Logan waved his hand and deliberately said reluctantly. He tried his best not to imagine a bunch of chubby guys chatting and discussing manga together while laughing perversely, "But what about the pretty lady? Forget it, it's hard for me to have your beautiful fantasy shattered."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, Logan?" David was unhappy, "I have posted several anime reviews on Youtube, joined many fan groups and hung out for a long time. Finding some high-quality local friends is normal, okay!"
"With your small-time Youtube's account?" Logan looked at David with a scrutinizing gaze, causing the other side to blush.
"What does my account's popularity have to do with it? And I'm too lazy to make videos, that's why the number of my views is not very high." David retorted dissatisfiedly, "Anyway, I didn't lie to you. It's your dark past clouding your heart, preventing you from being optimistic."
From what Logan knew, David was different from the kind of loner who watched anime and bullet comments in solitude. He was relatively sociable, with skills in being talkative and outgoing, and had integrated into a deep anime fan circle, becoming a qualified, uh, well, you know. Given how seriously David explained, Logan knew he was telling the truth. But he couldn't admit defeat verbally.
'Damn it, I've met some pretty girls from the 2D world too, you know!!'
Then, David started to enthusiastically recount the manga fan meetup, where they went, what they ate, and the strange things they discussed while sitting together, laughing awkwardly...
High school classes quickly passed by, a mix of those who were diligent and those who wasted time. Logan spent most of the morning listening to David, who finally got to the point.
"By the way, Logan, our manga fan meetup was quite successful this time, so we've already made an appointment for the next meetup. And then, I also told them that I wanted to introduce you to the group. After all, you're my only partner in the class, right?" David laughed heartily, trying to put his thick arm around Logan, who deftly avoided it.
"Forget it, I don't even know them." Logan reasonably declined, though he knew that David had good intentions. After all, lonely otaku on the fringes were quite pitiable sometimes.
"Sigh, everyone is easy to talk to. It's fate that we are in the same city and have common interests." David said persistently, "And we've planned to go to the big manga convention in Los Angeles in October. I recalled you mentioned wanting to go before, so this is a great opportunity..."
Logan's memory stirred for a moment, "Oh, a manga convention..." Logan muttered. He felt it was like a distant, youthful term.
"Yeah, the Los Angeles manga convention." David thought he'd hit the key point and started to entice Logan, "There will be lots of girls in revealing costumes, many game and manga booths. Oh, I heard several new anime will premiere there in October, such as Naruto and Sakamato's Days. Wow, now that I think about it, October anime is going to be fiercely competitive. But, I'm most looking forward to Berserk that's been delayed for years…"
As David continued talking, his habit of going off on anime news kicked in. The classmates occupied themselves during the break, playing with friends, reading, sunbathing in the corridor, creating a noisy atmosphere.
Logan's eyes flickered, and he patted David's shoulder, "Then, let's go to the manga convention."
David was stunned for a moment before reacting, "Oh! So, Logan, about the manga fan meetup..."
"Meeting new people and such... let's skip that for now." Logan said with an embarrassed smile, "Going to the convention with you doesn't conflict with your meetup."
"Hey Logan, are you sure you won't reconsider it?"
"No need, I've made up my mind..."
"Wow, you really not going to reconsider...?"
"Shut up!"
…
In this way, Logan and David have made an appointment to go to the Los Angeles manga convention in October. Logan naturally has an indifferent attitude towards this kind of activity where a group of people with the same hobbies and topics gather together for a short time to enjoy themselves. However, when he heard that Naruto's new series was premiering there, Logan's interest was immediately aroused. He had no clues regarding the matter in reality and was just passively saving money, so looking into related activities was a good distraction.
The routine continued, starting with the morning bus every day and ends with the residual September heat hitting the ground when he get off the bus.
The people Logan knew in the underworld hadn't sought his help again, which was normal if you think about it. In a harmonious society, there are not many incidents like in the movie.
The Blue Gang is actively pursuing a new-age path for organized crime. Damian only sent occasional payment confirmation messages, and not bothering Logan much. The Blue Gang tried their best not to disturb Logan. After all, in their impression, a reclusive expert like Logan would not like it if they disturbed him too much.
However, Logan actually wished that the other party would have more friendly cooperation so that he could quickly save enough for his overseas trip.
Diane, whom Logan once had the hallucination of 'Does she like me?', still maintained her pristine image as a good student.
David naturally chatted with Logan when there was nothing else to do at school. When it comes to Naruto, although David's true appearance appeared on the manga, there are always significant differences between a 2D character and a 3D person. Unless there was a specific trigger or a classic scene re-enacted, basically no one will think that Logan is the one in the manga, becoming a character. David joked about it with him, but it remained a lighthearted jest, while the truth dissipated lightly in the process, awaiting the future discovery.
Time passed, the light and shadow took on a new look, and Logan saw Team 7 again.
"Yosh, Team 7 will officially begin doing mission tomorrow!" Kakashi announced loudly.